Day four of NatCon: NUS’ inferno

By this point, everyone at Federation Uni was convinced of one thing: NatCon 2025 was cursed. According to the schedule, we should’ve gotten through student unionism, trade unionism, education, women’s, queer, First Nations, disability, and the welfare chapter by this point. However, since this was reportedly the most dysfunctional NatCon in 30 years, things did not go to plan. 

We were due to start the ballot draw at 9am, which entails electing the members of the National Union of Students’ (NUS) Executive (NX) according to pre-signed deals where everyone knows who’s getting elected and still call it democratic. The Returning Officer, who was driving up from Melbourne, was delayed until 10:30. Then we were told that they got into a car crash, which pushed it back to 12 and then to 2, well after the afternoon session was supposed to start. Unfortunately for the delegates, they had about 10 ½ chapters to go out of 12, and so the ballot draw took place concurrently with the afternoon session. 

This session, which was supposed to be the last one in NatCon, involved a lot of blocs. It is impossible to overexaggerate how many blocs there were. The Women’s Chapter was considered in a single bloc with 31 motions, while the Ethnocultural Chapter was voted on in two blocs. The remaining chapters were left to languish. Overall, the NUS got through about 45 per cent of the 418 motions which had been put forward, which was deeply disappointing to the many people who had intended to speak to various motions that were either voted en bloc or overlooked altogether. 

We managed to squeeze through the last of the bulging Education Chapter, and also to pass the financial reports and office bearer reports. After speaking on a few motions, around half an hour was spent just on putting various motions en bloc, taking them out of the bloc, and putting them back into larger blocs, or spicing things up by amending various motions in the bloc. 

The session was supposed to end at about 6, but this was pushed back so we could get a smidge more done, and then a procedural was passed to come back after dinner. By the end of it, just about all of the delegates looked a bit dead in the eyes. Naturally, each of the factions blamed each other for this disaster. It cannot be said, in light of this debacle, that the NUS has served the million students it represents to an acceptable standard. The factional infighting and backstabbing deals, that damned this conference from the beginning, have crippled the NUS’ ability to do the bare minimum. 

The results for the 2026 NX are as follows: