News

OUSA has finalised their 2011 Budget, which will be voted on by online referendum early next month. The proposed Budget was carried unanimously by an eleven-strong Exec amidst concerns about the constitutional changes made earlier in the year.

 The Exec voted against the contentious VSM contingency fund, deciding that it is unfair to penalise current students to benefit future students. As a result, student levies will rise by a mere $5.03 to $165.67 per student, in order to cover the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). General Rep Imogen Roth and Finance and Services Officer James Meager opposed the rise, claiming that the levies should be kept the same. Clubs and Socs Rep Dan Stride was the sole remaining advocate of the contingency fund, stating, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
   At the Budget-setting meeting it became apparent that the Exec had accidentally changed the constitution so that a quorum of five percent of all the members of OUSA is required to pass the Budget, rather than the intended one percent. The error occurred while Stride and President Harriet Geoghegan wrote the constitution, which was then uploaded, formatting errors and all, for students to vote on during the referendum. Meager and OUSA Secretary Donna Jones then undertook a “spell check” and “tidy up” of the messy constitution before registering it at the Registrar of Incorporated Societies. 
   Meager says it was wrong to tidy up the formatting errors after the referendum, and that the version put to referendum should have been the version registered. Having spoken with the Incorporated Societies, Meager says that if OUSA sends in the original unformatted version, this will be registered in place of the currently registered document. 
   OUSA is hoping that the messy constitution can be registered in place of the currently registered constitution, as otherwise OUSA has committed a breach of its own constitution. If this is the case, pleading substantive compliance with the constitution will not really be an option. The breach may need to be validated in a Student General Meeting, but, as the constitution stands, an SGM requires a quorum of 10 000 students. Meager told Critic that this will not really be an issue if the unformatted version of the constitution is accepted by Incorporated Societies. 
   Ultimately, it was decided that the Exec would hold an online referendum as the new constitution states, and alter the mistakes in the constitution during the referendum. If quorum of five percent isn’t met on the online referendum, the 2011 Budget will, by default, be the same as the 2010 one. Meager is concerned about that possibility, as the 2010 Budget has a different division of levies, and very different Budget lines, leaving a situation that would be very inconvenient for the 2011 Executive.
   Meager is also concerned that, to a certain extent, the Exec has lost face with certain groups of people. “I think this is partly due to not being up-front about the mistakes made in the first place, and partly due to making the mistakes themselves.” Meager hopes that fronting up, admitting the mistakes, and clearly stating what will happen next, will prevent the Exec from losing any more respect.
   Notably, the NZUSA line remains the same, with money budgeted for the 2011 fees. The Exec is withholding their decision on whether to remain in NZUSA until after the results of the select committee on the VSM bill are announced, and the national NZUSA conference takes place. During the conference they will reassess their decision based on how likely it is that NZUSA will make changes, and whether their policy on the length of notice needed to withdraw from NZUSA passes.
   The Student Support Centre line was increased by $4000 to provide for the instatement of a Queer Events Coordinator. Queer Rep Ros MacKenzie argued that social events for queer students on campus are hugely important, and that they are “not just a normal event.” She noted that UniQ, the group that currently organises Parfaits and coffeeQ, cannot get grants for food. Meager claimed MacKenzie was “pretty much circumventing the referendum results by essentially reinstating the Queer Rep role.” Harriet Geoghegan raised the floodgates argument, questioning: “How far do you go, what if we have Law students saying that SOULS need a paid position?” Ultimately the change was made, with seven Exec members voting for the position, one against, and four abstaining. 
   Later in the meeting Welfare Rep Claire Jackson attempted to get on the bandwagon and support the addition of a postgraduate events coordinator. MacKenzie retorted: “If you think there’s a genuine need, it should be looked at, but don’t just say it because I said it.”
   Amongst the other lines discussed were the Postgraduate Rep budget, Planet Media, the Student Support Centre hardship fund, and the Major Capital Expenditure line, all of which were unaltered. Meager made a note of thanking General Manager Steven Alexander for his tireless hard work and effort, saying “This Association would be somewhat lost without people like him.”