Background - why a unified student association is necessary
An extract from an article by Josh Osborne (UNEG Vice-President) included in the current edition of the NUCLEUS:
"Other than the newspaper we have no way to contact our membership unless we get permission to use the email system. Our constitution is a dog's breakfast, meant to restrict actions as opposed to facilitate them, and lacks clarity. Finally and most importantly we have no financial autonomy. All of these obstacles have all led to successive dysfunctional boards and the loss of all organisational memory about student advocacy."
"It isn't all bad however; the UNEG board ... has made significant progress towards re-establishing some capacity and organisational memory. But these factors combine to make any changes slow and difficult, especially as the board tries to lay foundations for the proper utilisation of SSAF for students. The university has recognised this and is helping to find solutions. In conjunction with Legal and Governance and UNE Council we have plotted a way forward that the Board believes will solve most, if not all, of the problems that student advocacy at this university faces.
It seems to us that the formation of a single student organisation is the way forward. A cohort-based board, with sub-committees formed by the different cohorts, be they postgrads, undergrads, external, international or internal will advise their representatives on the board of the issues and concerns that various parts of our student body face. This will also reduce the administrative duplication and make the case for recurrent funding from the university more palatable, essential should the SSAF disappear. Proper governance of one board will be easier, especially when an executive assistant is employed and can retain organisational memory softening the learning curve of new student leaders."