USU 2021 AGM: surplus and staff sacrifice

Emily Graetz reports.

The USU met on Monday for their Annual General Meeting. Initially struggling to meet the quorum of 60 people required for the meeting to run, we were fortunately saved by some last minute Zoom attendees before the meeting was finally declared open by President Irene Ma at 1.12pm. Ma began with an Acknowledgement of Country and noted apologies from Immediate Past President Connor Wherrett and Honorary Secretary Benny Shen. The minutes from 2020’s meeting were moved. 

President’s Report 

Ma stated that she found it challenging to summarise 2020 and chose rather, to focus on the positive outcomes of a challenging covid-riddled year. She said she wanted to “share not the source of sorrow but the cause of joy” and financial stability was undoubtedly a main focus. A 42% decrease in revenue was mediated by a similar decrease in expenditure, leaving the USU with a surplus of $786,399, which Ma said was “exceptional and well exceeded our hopes”. 

Ma thanked the staff who “bore the brunt” of 2020’s financial challenges and later stated that the USU would continue to “prioritise wellbeing of staff”. This comment was received by some present staff members with what appeared to be scornful laughter. It comes after staff working capacity was reduced to 40% in July 2020 and some staff members lost work altogether. The USU has since returned staff capacity to 100%. 

Ending her report on a positive note, Ma celebrated the success of the 2021 hybrid election, the increase in USU membership to their highest numbers and the recruitment of new CEO, Andrew Mills. She thanked 2020’s acting CEO Jess Reed, the Student Board and the Senate Appointed Directors. Ma noted the ongoing challenges of maintaining financial sustainability amidst a pandemic and staying relevant particularly to students stuck overseas. 

“The USU is without a doubt the heart of uni life and 2020 showed us just what that heart was made of... I love the USU and I’m grateful and honoured to have worked for the Union for the past 2 years”, Ma concluded. 

Honorary Treasurer’s Report

Honorary Treasurer Cady Brown opened by saying that “this AGM feels normal but this day is remarkable in the way that we reflect on the last 12 months”. Reiterating Ma’s enthusiasm over the USU’s $786, 399 surplus, Brown said that these results “reflect the massive sacrifices that the staff had faced” as well as government support in the form of $4 million of JobKeeper and a $75,000 job stimulus package. An unexpected venue hire also boosted the surplus beyond what was originally estimated. Brown stated that this was an “outstanding achievement” and that with staff at 100% capacity, “it’s all starting to feel normal”. 

Brown thanked Reed for “putting [her] commitment to the USU first” in her time as acting CEO as well as acknowledging the “stable and grounded forces” of Honorary Secretary Benny Shen and Vice President Nick Forbutt. Brown acknowledged the first year Directors who “kept [the USU] accountable” and expressed her good wishes to incoming Board Directors. 

The full financial report for 2020 can be found here. 

Concluding 

Both Ma and Brown’s reports were moved and Pitcher Partners were reinstated as auditors for 2021. After all of 15 minutes since the opening of the meeting, Ma declared there was no further business and the AGM was closed at 1.27pm. 

The USU board meets once a month and meetings are open to members of the public. On Thursday this week, the new Executive will be voted in.