Category: National
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EdCon Workshops: We Got ‘Paid’ Placements, Now What?
After the very intense plenary, we had three separate workshops which we could choose from. I attended the ‘We got ‘Paid’ placements, no what?’ workshop. The speaker started by giving us a recap of what has been going on with paid placements. She stated that there have been shortages since COVID and due to the…
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EdCon Day 2: Warfare First, Welfare Second
On Day 2 of Edcon, we started with the plenary from the welfare office where we discussed issues such as the food insecurity among students, accommodation and student life on campuses more broadly. The first question posed to the panel was, ‘how can our councils support students to address food insecurity?’ Melbourne’s University stated they…
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NUS Education Conference Day 1: Plenary With Plenty To Say
Every year, students from different universities around Australia, members of the National Union of Students (NUS), get together at a conference for several days to discuss, debate and learn about student politics and the direction of student life. The Education Conference this year is taking place at Curtin University in Perth and I had the…
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Changes for UOW coming in this year’s federal budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down this year’s federal budget, the third of the Albanese government and recording a surplus of $9 billion. The main focus of this budget is alleviating cost-of-living pressures. It also introduces a “Future Made in Australia” initiative that includes a number of changes to the higher education system. The…
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Student conference ends in chaos: NatCon day four
Feature image: Members of Socialist Alternative leave the conference early after a chaotic end to NatCon 2023. Photo courtesy of Lachlan White. A rooster of boring morning ballots Student media woke Thursday morning wanting more saucy coverage. Turns out there were just quiet ballot votes amongst the factions to elect executives for NUS.…
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Disability advocate says student conference is “inaccessible” and “ableist”
(Feature image) Muawiyath carries this chair as a “symbol of rebellion against indifference to our needs.” Photo courtesy of Lachlan White. A disability advocate attending a peak national student conference has accused organisers of ignoring his disability requirements. Muawiyath (Muthu) Didi is an independent delegate from Flinders University Student Association (FUSA) attending the annual meeting…
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“Emotions are high, tensions are high.” NatCon day three
(Feature image) delegates line up for the most important session of the day, Dinner Conference (DinCon). The nation’s student politicians have gathered in Ballarat for day three of the National Conference (NatCon) of the National Union of Students (NUS). Once again there was passionate debate on NUS policy and the stance of the NUS…
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NatCon is risen: Day two
If you happened to walk by Federation University’s Q2 building at 9am on Tuesday morning, you would have noticed a sorry sight. Hungover people in blue shirts that say ‘Unity’ lying in the sun, student media desperately searching Google Maps for a nearby cafe and others kicking a footy out on the nearby oval. What…
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Where’s NLS? NatCon day one
The National Union of Students’ National Conference descended on a cold, grey and rainy Ballarat on Monday, arguably a fitting tone for the day’s proceedings. After a lengthy check-in, the conference opened a respectable two hours late at 4pm, and only managed to survive one of the two sessions planned for the day. We’ll start…