Transparency:

I am a firm believer that students should not be expected to navigate through long and complicated meeting agendas and minutes to understand how the executive is working for them. That's why as Treasurer I will ensure greater, more transparent reporting of the activities of the executive and the expenditure of the association. Publishing monthly reports, that are easy to find and read, and understand will mean more students can understand the work the union is doing for them, expenditure reporting at SRC’s is not enough, students already perceive meetings as unproductive and unwelcoming. We must bring the information to them.

Safeguarding:

ANUSA’s finances need to be shored up and safeguarded for the future in a way that ensures that student money remains in student hands. If elected treasurer, I will work towards responsible investing some of the reserves into ethical stocks as a way of producing an independent cash flow that goes straight back into student hands. If this policy is implemented, the investing of reserve money could allow for future ANUSA services to essentially pay for themselves, allowing for more money to be allocated back to more services that students need. Many incumbents on the union ran on a policy to run a night cafe to have non-SSAF income to protect the union. Whilst they failed to deliver their night cafe; investing some of our reserves is a low-maintenance, low-risk way to deliver profits for the union. 

Furthermore I will work with the Vice President to implement ANUSA owned vending machines that could be situated across ANU and in the BKSS. By having easily available and cost effective vending machines across campus students will be able to purchase snacks at a cheap price wherever they are in campus without having to plan ahead or interrupt their studies in order to travel to the supermarket and buy snacks at unaffordable prices. Vaishnavi and I are really proud of this policy and like all our policies it is sensible, affordable and an achievable policy that will affect students positively in the short and long term. 

ANUSA investing in these machines is smart as the union  will be able to turn a profit by stocking the machine with key items that are cost-effective for students while producing revenue that can and will go back into funding ANUSA services.   

Protecting: 

Poor mental health significantly negatively impacts people’s educational experience. At a time in our lives when we are particularly broke, accessing mental health support is often limited by financial constraints. That’s why I will work with our presidential candidate to deliver a NEW mental health access grant and pay for people’s first session at the ANU Psychology clinic. Nobody should struggle because they can’t afford to ask for help. 

Alongside this, I will advocate with the National Union of Students (NUS) to put mental health support on medicare. It is shameful that in today’s day and age, the federal government doesn’t treat mental healthcare like healthcare that we need. Until then, Change will work to make this easier for students. 

Introducing a subsidy for Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication similar to the birth control subsidy already in place at ANUSA. This subsidy will assist all people who are at risk of contracting HIV at ANU. This will prevent people from having to potentially choose between life saving preventative medicine and food in a time where cost of living is inadvertently affecting students.

Running autonomous departments is a lot of work and the majority of department committees (including department treasurers) are unpaid for their time and as a result are often overworked with little to no guidance and even less funding. If elected I pledge to allocate my time to working with departments, especially department treasurers to assist them with the implementation of the services and events that they provide. 

Engaging:

One of the biggest problems on campus and in the union's focus is not engaging fully with the wider student population on how they want the union to spend the money for them. As a result much of the ANUSA’s current focus is on events that are disproportionately geared towards certain students; primarily undergraduate and college students

Hayden O’Brien and a Change executive will rectify this by:

• Implementing a consultation process with students to see how they want their money spent 

• Promoting and strengthening the Student Extra Curricular Engagement Fund (SEEF) to allow for more money for community building and especially for more Postgraduate/HDR events