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University of Sydney Students' Representative Council

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Students' Representative Council
University of Sydney
Logo
Type
Type
Undergraduate student union
of the University of Sydney
History
Founded1929; 95 years ago (1929)
Leadership
President
Angus Fisher, NLS
since 1 December 2024
Vice-President
Bohao Zhang, Penta
since 1 December 2024
Vice-President
Shovan Bhattarai, Socialist Alternative
since 1 December 2024
General Secretary
Grace Street, Grassroots
since 1 December 2024
General Secretary
Anu-ujin Khulan, Penta
since 1 December 2024
Structure
Seats37
Political groups
  •   Socialist Alternative (9)
  •   Student Left Alliance (2)
  •   Grassroots (6)
  •   Switch (3)
  •   National Labor Students (5)
  •   Penta (3)
  •   Engineers (1)
  •   Artistry (1)
  •   Student Unity (2)
  •   Liberals (5)
Length of term
1 year
Affiliations
National Union of Students University of Sydney
Newspaper
Honi Soit
Motto
Activism, Advocacy, Representation
Website
Students’ Representative Council
Constitution
Constitution as at September 2023

The Students' Representative Council (SRC) is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. In addition to a student-elected council and student advocacy portfolios, the SRC coordinates a free legal service and caseworker service for all undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. These services provide legal, academic appeal, migration, tenancy and study advice to students.

The SRC has a reputation as Australia's most radical student union, and has been instrumental in leading student activism on a range of issues including education,[1] feminist justice, environmentalism,[2] First Nations justice[3] and queer rights.[4] The longest-running weekly student newspaper in Australia, Honi Soit, is funded by the SRC.

Governance

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Council

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The SRC is governed by the Council, which currently consists of 37 Representatives elected annually by undergraduate students. 1 Representative is elected for every 1000 undergraduate students at the University. The Council meets once a month. Motions can be presented by any student (within or without the council), and are debated on for political merit. Motions usually contain action points that can compel the SRC to commit to student issues, and advocate for student interest concerns.

Executive

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The Executive of the SRC is elected annually by the Council (bar the President), and consists of the President, Vice-Presidents, General Secretaries, and five general members, elected proportionally out of Council. Meeting fortnightly, the Executive makes most significant decisions regarding the SRC.

The day-to-day operation of the SRC is generally conducted by paid staff and paid office-bearers, being the President (directly elected by students), the Vice-President, the General Secretary, the Education Officer(s), and Women's Officer(s).

Elections

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Annual elections are held in September each year, to elect the Council, the President, 7 NUS delegates, and the editors of Honi Soit, the student newspaper. Unlike most student organisations, other office-bearers are elected by the Council, and not directly by students. All undergraduate students have a right to vote in annual elections.

Approximately 4500 students vote each year.[5]

History

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In 1888 the establishment of the Sydney University Undergraduate Association marked the first sign of organised student government on the campus of Sydney University. The Women's Undergraduate Association was formed in 1899 and separate organisations for male and female evening students were to form some years later. In 1929 the four associations agreed to rationalize the governing of the student body, and the Students' Representative Council was established to represent all undergraduates. The first President of the S.R.C. was J. M. Gosper. The 1930/31 Annual Report acknowledges that it is 'largely to the enthusiasm and organising abilities of J. M. Gosper that the Council owes its origins.

Student government was initially concerned primarily with gaining a student voice within the official University hierarchy, and promoting student interests within the University environment. However, student leaders soon became aware of their influence within the wider community, and the scope of student politics extended to include issues of broader social and political significance. At various times student activism has been of considerable importance in moulding public opinion in Australia on issues as diverse as apartheid, the death penalty, censorship, conscription and tertiary fees.

Honi Soit is the SRC's official journal and was first published in 1929. Its longevity is perhaps unintended, as the SRC's Annual Report expressed 'doubt as to whether any useful purpose could be served by the continuation of Honi Soit' and the publication was maintained the following year on an 'experimental basis.'

Presidents

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Prominent former Presidents of the Sydney SRC include a Prime Minister of Australia, Cabinet Ministers, and Members of Parliaments, State and Federal, Justices of the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court, including a Chief Justice of New South Wales and a Court of Appeal President. Presidents of the SRC have also regularly proceeded to become Presidents of the National Union of Students.

No. Portrait President Factional grouping Term start Term end
1 J.M. Gosper Independent 1930 1931
2 Frank Wood Bayldon Independent 1931 1932
3 V.J. Flynn Independent 1932 1933
4 C.R. Laverty Independent 1933 1934
5 J. Bowie-Wilson Independent 1934 1935
6 D.R. Lewis Independent 1935 1936
7 G.P. Campbell Independent 1936 1937
8 Kevin Ellis Independent 1937 1938
9 P.J. Kenny Independent 1938 1939
10 W. Granger Independent 1939 1940
11 J.H.E. Mackay Independent 1940 1941
12 J.S. Collings Independent 1941 1942
13 P.P. Manzie Independent 1942 1943
14 Moya McDade Independent 1943 1944
15 Keith Dan Independent 1944 1945
16 Marnie Watt Independent 1945 1946
17 John Nash Independent 1946 1947
18 John Redrup Independent 1947 1948
19 Ted McWhinney Independent 1948 1949
20 Alan Beattie Independent 1949 1950
21 Jim Brassil Independent 1950 1951
22 Peter J. Curtis Independent 1951 1952
23 Phillip Jeffrey Independent 1952 1953
24 Gregory Bartels Independent 1953 1954
25 Philip Berthon-Jones Independent 1954 1955
26 Greg Dunne Independent 1955 1956
27 Tony Reading Independent 1956 1957
28 Jim Carlton Independent 1957 1958
29 Malcolm Brown Independent 1958 1958
30 Brian L. Hennessy Independent 1958 1959
31 M.G.I. Davey Independent 1959 1960
32 Robert J. Wallace Independent 1960 1961
33 Peter Wilenski Independent 1961 1962
34 John Boyd Independent 1962 1963
35 Michael Kirby Independent 1963 1964
36 Bob McDonald Independent 1964 1965
37 Michael A. Weber Independent 1965 1965
38 J. Richard Walsh Independent 1965 1966
39 Geoffrey Robertson Independent 1966 1967
40 Alan Cameron Independent 1967 1968
41 James Spigelman Independent 1968 1969
42 Percy Allan Independent 1969 1970
43 Barry Robinson Independent 1970 1970
44 Chris Beale Independent 1970 1971
45 Chris Sidoti Independent 1971 1972
46 Brett Mattes Independent 1974 1974[a]
47 John McGrath Independent 1974 1975
48 David Patch Independent 1976 1977
49 Peter Byrnes Independent 1977 1977[b]
50 Barbara Ramjan Independent 1977 1978
51 Tony Abbott Democratic Labor 1979 1980[c]
52 Paul Brereton Centre Unity 1980 1981
53 Paul Rickard Centre Unity 1982 1983
54 John Martin Centre Unity 1983 1984
55 Belinda Neal Centre Unity 1984 1985
56 Mark Heyward Liberal 1985 1986
57 Helen Spowart Council of ALP Students 1986 1987
58 Joe Hockey Liberal 1987 1988
59 Liz Gardiner Left Alliance 1988 1989
60 Rod McDonald Left Alliance 1989 1990[d]
61 Vanessa Chan Left Alliance 1990 1991
62 Caitlin Vaughan Left Alliance 1991 1992
63 Amanda Lees Left Alliance 1992 1993
66 Anna Davis Left Alliance 1993 1994
67 Heidi Norman Left Alliance 1994 1995
68 Nadya Haddad Left Alliance 1995 1996
69 Catherine Burnheim Left Alliance 1996 1997
70 Katrina Curry Left Alliance 1997 1998
71 Adair Durie Students First 1998 10 March 1998[e]
72 Luke Whitington Socialist Left 1998 2000[f]
73 Natasha Verco National Broad Left / Activist Left 2000 2001
74 Moksha Watts Socialist Left 2001 2002
75 Daniel Kyriacou Socialist Left 2002 2003
76 Jo Haylen Socialist Left 2003 2004
77 Felix Eldridge Socialist Left 2004 2005
78 Rose Jackson Socialist Left 2005 2006
79 Nick Wood Socialist Left 2006 2006[g]
National Labor Students 2006 2007
80 Angus McFarland National Labor Students 2007 2008
81 Kate Laing National Labor Students 2008 2009
82 Noah White National Labor Students 2009 2010
83 Elly Howse National Labor Students 2010 2011
84 Donherra (Dee) Walmsley National Labor Students 2011 2012
85 Phoebe Drake National Labor Students 2012 2013
86 David Pink National Labor Students 2013 20 March 2013[h]
Sydney Labor Students 20 March 2013 2014
87 Jennifer Light Centre Unity 2014 2015
88 Kyol Blakeney Grassroots Left 2015 2016
89 Chloe Smith National Labor Students 2016 2017
90 Isabella Brook National Labor Students 2017 2018
91 Imogen Grant Grassroots Left 2018 2019
92 Jacky He Panda 2019 2020
93 Liam Donohoe Grassroots Left 2020 2021
94 Swapnik Sanagavarapu Grassroots Left 2021 2022
95 Lauren Lancaster Grassroots Left 2022 2023
96 Lia Perkins Grassroots Left 2023 2024
97 Harrison Brennan Grassroots Left 2024 2025
98 Angus Fisher National Labor Students 2025 2026

Politics

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From the mid-1960s the SRC has been at the centre of student activism in Australia. Most activist groupings in the National Union of Students have a presence at Sydney University, such as National Labor Students (Labor Left), Socialist Alternative, Student Unity (Labor Right), the Australian Greens, Grassroots Left and the Liberals.

Since 2000 the SRC has been heavily influenced by what is now National Labor Students (formerly the National Organisation of Labor Students), the student arm of Labor's Socialist Left. Prior to that, from the late 1980s until 1997, the SRC was controlled by the Left Alliance, a former NUS faction made up of a coalition of students to the left of Labor such as Socialists, the Australian Greens, anarchists, queer activists, and environmentalists. Labor Party affiliated factions dominated the SRC presidency from 1998 to 2014. In recent years Labor's hold on power was challenged by independent/non affiliated alliances, internal conflicts within established Labor factions and the emergence of the Grassroots Left. Grassroots Left quickly developed into a national NUS faction with a presence on several campuses. A member of Grassroots, Kyol Blakeney, was elected the second Indigenous president of the University's SRC in 2014. However, in 2015 and 2016, Labor Left faction National Labor Students re-secured the SRC Presidency, in cooperation with Grassroots in 2015 and in cooperation with moderate Liberals in 2016, who supported Edward McCann for the Vice-Presidency of the SRC.[7] However, following the election this coalition collapsed, with a broad left grouping of Labor left, Socialist Alternative, independents and Grassroots elected to all remaining positions.[8] In 2017, Grassroots returned to the presidency, electing Imogen Grant as the 90th President of the SRC.[9] In 2018, an independent party of international students labelled the Panda Warriors won the presidency, electing Jacky He as the 91st President of the SRC.[10] He is the first President to have been elected on primarily the votes of international students within the university. In 2019, Liam Donohoe won the Presidency, returning the SRC to a Grassroots president. In 2020, Swapnik Sanagavarapu was elected to the SRC Presidency unopposed, leading to a back-to-back Grassroots victory.[11] In 2021, Lauren Lancaster retained the Grassroots hold on the presidency in the largest election in USyd's history.[12] Lia Perkins (Grassroots) was elected unopposed to the Presidency for 2023 and Harrison Brennan (Grassroots) secured the 5th consecutive year of Grassroots presidencies when he was elected as the 96th SRC president over National Labor Students' candidate Rose Donnelly.[13]

Angus Fisher (National Labor Students) broke the Grassroots incumbency in 2024, winning the primary vote and ending five years of Grassroots presidencies.[14] The Left bloc (Grassroots, Socialist Alternative, Solidarity and aligned Independents) lost its majority on the council in the same year as the Liberal vote share soared, with NLS (Labor Left) holding the balance of power.[15]

Election results

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Current composition (2023−2024)

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Student Faction Bloc
Jasmine Al-Rawi   Left Action   Left
Deaglan Godwin   Left Action   Left
Yasmine Johnson   Left Action   Left
Aryan Ilkhani   Lift   Liberal
Harrison Brennan   Grassroots   Left
Clare Liu   Penta   Penta
Jamie Bridge   Student Left Alliance   Student Left Alliance
Jada Khorram   Gymbros   Liberal
Simon Upitis   Left Action   Left
Maddie Clark   Left Action   Left
Shovan Bhattarai   Left Action   Left
Tamsyn Smith   Left Action   Left
Angus Dermody   Student Left Alliance   Student Left Alliance
Rose Donnelly   Revive (NLS)   Left
Emily Sun   Lift   Liberal
Lucas Pierce   Left Action   Left
Jack Lockhart   Revive (NLS)   Left
Shahmeer Hossain   Lift   Liberal
Grace Porter   Revive (Student Unity)   Left
Ivan Samsonov   Lift   Liberal
Keira Garland   Left Action   Left
Ethan Floyd   Grassroots   Left
James Dwyer   Revive (Student Unity)   Left
Eliza Crossley   Switch   Left
Angus Fisher   Revive (NLS)   Left
Bowen Gao   Penta   Penta
Gerard Buttigieg   Revive (NLS)   Left
Grace Street   Grassroots   Left
Martha Barlow   Grassroots   Left
Victor Zhang   Engineers   Engineers
Ned Graham   Revive (NLS)   Left
Sofija Filipovic   Switch   Left
Jordan Anderson   Switch   Left
Rav Grewal   Grassroots   Left
Cara Eccleston   Artistry   Left
Mary Liu   Penta   Penta
Ellie Robertson   Grassroots   Left

2023

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2023 SRC election
Structure
Political groups
  Left (26) Increase 1
  Liberal (5) Steady
  Penta (3) Steady
  Left Alliance (2) Decrease 1
  Engineers (1) Decrease 2
Faction[16] Seats Change
  Left Action 9 Decrease 1
  Grassroots 6 Steady
  Switch 3 Steady
  Amplify (NLS) 5 Increase 2
  Penta 3 Steady
  Liberals 3 Steady
  Student Left Alliance 2 Decrease 1
  Engineers 1 Decrease 2
  Student Unity (Labor Right) 2 Steady
  Artistry 1 Steady

2022

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2022 SRC election
Structure
Political groups
  Left (25)
  Liberal (5)
  Engineers (3)
  Penta (3)
  Left Alliance (3)
  Independent (2)
Faction[17][18] Votes Seats Change
  Left Action 400 10 Increase 9
  Grassroots 244 6 Decrease 4[i]
  Switch 185 3 Decrease 7[i]
  Amplify (NLS) 131 3 Increase 2[j]
  Penta 129 3 Decrease 2
  Lift 111 3 Increase 3
  Student Left Alliance 106 3 Increase 3
  Engineers 102 3 Steady
  Independents for Change 61 1 Increase 1
  Stand Up (Student Unity) 46 1 Decrease 4
  Artistry 44 1 Steady
  Gymbros 38 1 Increase 1
  Colleges 36 1 Decrease 1
  INTERPOL 29 1 Increase 1
  Your Mom (Student Unity) 26 1 Increase 1
  Lefties 19 0 Steady

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Brett Mattes resigned late in his term, and was replaced by John McGrath, who had been elected in 1974 for the 1975 term.
  2. ^ Peter Byrnes resigned midway through his term, and was replaced by Barbara Ramjan. Ramjan subsequently won election to the presidency in her own right.
  3. ^ At the time of the 1978 SRC Annual Elections the SRC Electoral Regulations specified that the term of office commenced from the time of the official declaration of the poll by the Electoral Officer. There was a bitter dispute after the 1978 Annual Elections as the then Electoral Officer delayed declaration of poll for several weeks after the count had been concluded, resulting in the then President-elect, Tony Abbott, gaining access illicitly over a weekend to the SRC offices and declaring himself in power on the following Monday morning. Access to the SRC offices by Officers and representatives was barred by cohorts of Tony Abbott (from St. John's College) on that Monday morning and subsequent days and, eventually, the Registrar's office was called in to mediate between the contending sides. As a consequence of this in the following year the Electoral Regulations were amended to specify that the term of office commenced on 1 September.
  4. ^ For the period to the end of 1988, Sydney University operated on the three-terms-a-year system and SRC Annual elections were held in Trinity (second) term in July. Subsequent to the University changing to the semester system in 1989, the SRC Electoral Regulations were changed during 1988 (to take effect from 1 Jan, 1989) to the effect that SRC Annual Elections be held in second semester and that the term of office of the Council be for one year from 1 December to 30 November the following year. Falling in a transition year, McDonald held office for 15 months.
  5. ^ Adair Durie was removed from office following the 1997 election.[6]
  6. ^ Luke Whitington was elected in the 1998 by-election following the removal of Adair Durie, and was elected again at the 1998 general election to serve in 1999.
  7. ^ The Socialist Left merged into National Labor Students in 2006.
  8. ^ Pink resigned from National Labor Students on the 20 March 2013 joining the newly-formed Sydney Labor Students.
  9. ^ a b Grassroots and Switch ran as a combined 'Switchroots' ticket in 2021, electing 10 students.[18]
  10. ^ Compared with the results of Pump in 2021.[18]

References

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  1. ^ ""Shameful, anti-intellectual actions": Education protests continue as more cuts loom". 3 November 2021.
  2. ^ "COP26 protest in Sydney stresses that 2050 is too late for climate action". 6 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Looking back: Ann Curthoys on the Freedom Rides - Honi Soit". June 2018.
  4. ^ ""No bigotry, no way!": Snap action for queer rights protests Premier Perrottet". 31 October 2021.
  5. ^ P. Graham, SRC Electoral Officer 2013
  6. ^ "Sydney Uni president sacked". Green Left. 1 April 1998.
  7. ^ "Births, Deaths & Marriages – Week 7, Semester 2 - Honi Soit". 6 September 2016.
  8. ^ "#repselect 2 Live Blog - Honi Soit". 23 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Imogen Grant narrowly elected 2018 SRC President". Honi Soit. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Panda's Jacky He will be 2019 SRC president". Honi Soit. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  11. ^ Results of SRC President and Honi Soit Elections Provisionally Declared Pulp. 27th August, 2020.
  12. ^ "Lauren Lancaster provisionally elected SRC President, Cake to edit Honi in 2022". Honi Soit. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ "BREAKING: Angus Fisher provisionally elected as 97th SRC President". Honi Soit. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Liberals surge as Grassroots loses Presidency for the first time in five years: 2024 SRC Election wrap up". Honi Soit. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Left Action and Switchroots maintain power as Labor increases vote share: 2023 Election Wrapped". Honi Soit.
  17. ^ "Left Action and Switchroots dominate SRC election 2022". Honi Soit.
  18. ^ a b c "SRC Election 2021: Council and NUS Results". Honi Soit.
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