The Capitalist Union runs from the outside, trying to cut in as a counter-point to left-wing activism. What do they plan to do?
What do you stand for?
Capitalist Union stands for freedom and empowering individuals to be able to make the best choices for themselves.
Which of your policies are central to your platform?
In line with our values, Capitalist Union has the following 4 core policies
Optional SSAF
The SSAF is a mandatory fee that every student has to pay. It’s not obvious that every student gets the same value from it. Giving students the choice to keep some of it for themselves, or allocate some portion to their own club, would be a good way of recognising that individual students engage with their Guild in a unique way.
Not paying the NUS association fee
The NUS has asked the Guild for $60,000*. There’s no way the Guild would pay that, but it also shouldn’t pay anything at all. The NUS provides zero value for UWA students. Those few that like engaging in NUS stuff could easily start their own club and engage with it if they want to. But they claim to speak for the students of UWA, and that’s just not true – it’s certainly not okay for them to use other students money to support their own activist project.
Rejecting activists in the Guild
Relating to the last, some activists have found out that they can get 50 or so people together and drive the Guild and the student voice to where they want to go. That’s not representative of the student voice, and it reflects poorly on our university.
Interfac sports betting
This is just a bit of fun, and we think it really shouldn’t harm anyone. Australia has a sports betting culture – why not bring that into the university in a fun way? It could raise some money for some of the philanthropic causes the Guild likes to partake in as a bonus.
Why should people get out and vote for you?
The Guild is like a company, and instead of seeking profits, it seeks to provide value to students. Every student at UWA has a vote, like a shareholder has a vote in a company. Capitalist Union wants students to exercise that vote in the way that maximises value for themselves. If they don’t (and actually most won’t), then the Guild will provide just as much value to the students as it has to, and not the least bit more. Students should vote for us if they think we can provide value to them.
Do you expect to achieve real electoral success, or to make a statement by running?
You make a statement by achieving electoral success. We’re running because we’re a group of friends looking to have fun and participate in a university institution. The toxicity that we’ve encountered so far, up to and including threats of physical violence on social media, has taken all of us by surprise. If we’re “making a statement” by running then that’s more reflective of the toxic political atmosphere and culture of extremism on campus.
What role do you envision for the Guild if you were ideally successful?
If we are successful, we want to see the Guild take a step away from activism and focus on providing value to students. If students want their SSAF to go towards the NUS, then they can allocate their contribution in that way. As it stands, students have no choice in where their own money is going and we want to change that.
How would you implement the values of capitalism in a public institution like the Guild?
The values of capitalism are just the values of the Australian society we all live in. It’s not radical and actually it is a bit of a joke that we bang on about the freedom thing, because really that’s the default in Australia! It’s a misconception that capitalism and public institutions conflict. Any sensible person would understand they form a symbiosis.
*The Guild only paid $15k to the NUS last year, due to discounts reflecting NUS under-performance.