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. Not quite our pastry, we were hungry for the afternoon conference.
Some financial questions for NUS
Now it was time to eat up the afternoon conference. After the new members of the NUS were announced – which were posted by Tertangala in the Day 3 coverage of NatCon – outgoing General Secretary, Sheldon Gait took questions from the student media.
The first question: why did spending overtake income this year NUS? Gait said that NUS is still dealing with outstanding payments and that not all income transactions had been registered yet. He also said that the cost of conference has increased.
A second question was about how NUS may explain the increased costs related to travel expenditures. Gait replied NUS has been visiting conferences, campaigning and lobbying via visits to Canberra. He said that “it’s a large increase, but I think the money is going to good places.”
Motions for transgender
Later in the afternoon, motions moved to transgender inequality. One motion related to the remembrance of deaths of trans people from transphobic violence as well as resistance to transphobia. Independent Damien Nguyen began by condemning Unity for attempting to block the motion. Grindies’ Skye Predevac then moved to speak.
“I am a proud trans-woman. I am not ashamed but I live in fear of a growing world that despises transgender people. The fact that this is the only queer motion being properly discussed is a fucking disgrace,” Skye said.
A Unity member followed: “I want to apologise for the procedural [yesterday] that prohibited cis men from speaking in the women’s chapter. It is evil ideologies and hate that drive violence and we apologise for anything that we’ve perpetuated.”
Grace Hill returned, saying NLS did not attend trans rallies throughout the year.
The motion was passed universally.
People with disability (try to) speak
A procedural to move onto the disabilities chapter was passed, including several amendments. The motion concerned NUS’s support to abolish NDIS, which the motion labelled a privatisation of health care which benefits the rich.
A SAlt member was first to speak: “This really shows the inadequacy of the Labor party. How can we ignore this issue and let corporations make a quick buck?” He was speaking loudly into the mic, and SAlt were yelling ‘Shame!’ onto the Labor factions. The mic was removed from him, as there was a procedural that limited audience and speaker’s yelling on account of “sensory accessibility.”
Jasmine Duff of SAlt: “I wonder how you’re gonna defend this disgusting policy. The NDIS was created to oppress and privatise disability in this country.” Someone yelled “Stop yelling.”
Outgoing Disabilities Officer Isabella Harding said “I find it disgraceful that Jasmine got up here and said that NDIS oppresses me. NDIS has actually changed my life and given me opportunities that I didn’t have before.”
A SAlt member replied from the crowd “if NDIS is so wonderful, then what do you have to say about Bill Shorten cutting 15 billion dollars from disability health services?”
Jasmine jumped up out of turn in front of the conference and yelled “I’m for free universal health care for all.” She got a warning for breaking floor procedural rules.
Jacklan Scanlan, NLS, Usyd spoke: “One thing that SAlt does not understand is this policy was not made to save money. It came from disabled people.”
The motion failed with SAlt for, and NLS and Unity against.
The rest of the motions in the disability chapter were on bloc.
Multiple people came on to speak about their experiences with disabilities and what these motions can give in supporting them.
SAlt was warned after a member jumped speaking order to take the mic and talk about Palestine before the chair took it off them. SAlt members on the floor then began chanting “Palestine will be free.”
Flinders University independent Muthu Didi, spoke next: “Where I come from, I don’t have any social services. So when I come here I see NDIS, I am jealous of people living here. I am a voice of international students with disabilities. I strongly advocate for the abolition of the healthcare cost cap.”
You can read more about Muthu’s poor accessibility treatment at NatCon here.
“You guys are heartless cunts”
Towards the end, tensions on the conference floor escalated further. Isabella Harding took aim at SAlt for disrupting speakers on disability motions.
“That might be the most shameful thing I’ve seen on this conference floor,” Isabella said.
Labor and SAlt members exchange shouts. The former could be heard saying, “You don’t care about disabled people,” and “You guys are heartless cunts.” And from the latter: “There’s over 40,000 disabled people in Gaza and you’re letting it happen.”
In the end, enough SAlt members were removed for the conference to lose quorum. That was all for NatCon 2023.
Unity’s Gulied Abullahi accused SAlt of being “ableist.”
Some students were seen crying outside after conference.
‘Dincon,’ ‘dartcon’ and ‘punchcon’
SAlt left Ballarat immediately following the loss of quorum, so Unity, NLS, and a handful of Grindies were all that remained. The “ballot night party” was the final order of business, and each faction’s punch was brought out.