AUSA Election Candidate Interviews: President

Craccum interviews Rebecca Huang, Matthew Lee, Praneel Gupta, and Jethro Saleupolu on their campaigns for President.

Question 1. How would you describe yourself in 5 words?

Rebecca: Experienced, ambitious, strong-willed, approachable, president

Matthew: Hardworking, ambitious, community-oriented, supportive, and advocate.

Praneel: Getting things done honestly and relentlessly.

Jethro: Adaptive, Friendly, Outgoing, Experimentive, Inspirational

2. Which of your policies/visions are you most excited to implement next year, and why?

Rebecca: I have 1 vision for the year. To get AUSA 'Back to the Basics". All my policies fall under this vision, and ultimately it's about changing the fundamental direction of AUSA. I am excited to help students where it really matters and to make AUSA relevant by delivering tangible benefits to students.

Matthew: My two priorities as president will be to be an unapologetic advocate for students and to be a strong leader for the executive. A specific goal I'm really excited to achieve is the AUSA app, which will be integrated with campus maps, an events calendar, and access to AUSA services. I think this will be an incredible way to connect with students and build community and relevant. 

Praneel: The problem I hear about most, in almost every single conversation I've had with students this year, is unemployment. That's what my whole presidency is going to be built around, and the policy I'm most excited about is an AUSA employment referral system. The idea is actually very simple. AUSA partners directly with employers across different industries and builds a reputation as a trusted referrer. Students who want to use the system meet a clear set of requirements, things like coursework, involvement, or relevant skills. Once they meet those, AUSA refers them directly to a partner organisation, which gives them a real head start compared to a cold application.

This only works if employers actually trust AUSA's word, so I've already spent the past year having conversations with organisations across different industries to start building that trust. In this economy, a referral that actually means something to an employer is one of the most valuable things AUSA could give its graduates. It's tangible, it's achievable in a year, and it's not just advocacy; it's a direct pipeline into a job.

Jethro: I am excited to implement my ‘your voice matters’ policy. This policy will finally give students a reason to turn to AUSA for help. 

3. As President, you will have to bring together and lead an entire team of people. How will you encourage collaboration and teamwork within the executive?

Rebecca: As someone who isn't currently part of AUSA and isnt running with a team, I am the perfect person to tie everyone on the committee together. No picking favourites, no choosing sides, from day 1 establishing that we're a team. It's important that we're all on the same side, that's why from the beginning of the term, I'd start the planning with the exec to understand each others strengths and priorities. This level of openness would be carried through the year. Most importantly, a open and honest policy. If a committee member has any ideas or problems, they're expected to speak out about it openly within the exec and honestly.

Matthew: One of the things I want to improve in the executive is the way that it is run. Currently, it feels very fragmented where different execs go off and do their own things in their respective portfolios. There is a lack of a collective vision and a team goal. This is something I will change. I will have a strategic planning meeting at the start of the term where we identify our shared and individual goals and build a plan to achieve then as a team. This is so that execs don't feel isolated but are also given the tools and resources they need to succeed. This is something I've been trying to do as VP by supporting all of the portfolio officers with their initiatives and events. 

Praneel: I've been in AUSA for two years now, and I've seen two very different leadership styles up close, so I have a pretty clear idea of what works and what doesn't. For me it comes down to people feeling safe first, not just organised. I want clear, direct communication within the executive, and I want conflict resolution to actually be part of how we operate, not something we deal with only when it becomes a problem. If tension comes up between exec members, I want people to feel like they can come talk to me about it early, instead of letting it sit and turn into something bigger. Nobody should feel isolated or scared to say what they actually think in that room.

Jethro: We are all after the same goal, just different missions. Acting as a mediator between the team.

4. Are there any policies from this year/previous years that you would continue or bring back? Why/why not?

Rebecca: The open door policy is one that I strongly support. I want to take this one step further, not just physically an open door to AUSA, but an online one too. An easy anonymous process for students to ask for help, suggest ideas, and report problems, online and in person.

Matthew: Open door policy - this has really helped with making us more accessible, and I would want to continue this! President's corner as well, but majorly revamped to make it more relevant and accessible. 

Praneel: Two things I'd keep going. The open door policy within the executive, because it keeps things honest and stops small issues from becoming bigger ones. And campus pop-ups, which were tried once before but never really became a regular thing. I'd actually commit to that properly, because visibility and accessibility are things AUSA still needs to work on, and a five minute chat on campus does more for that than another email ever will.

Jethro: Yes, because I do not want to see such great policies and the potential they have gone to waste.

5. Why should students care about AUSA elections?

Rebecca: Students should care because regardless of whether they do or not, their money is going towards AUSA. Therefore, students should represent themselves and advocate for where they want their money to go.

Matthew: AUSA impacts more than people realise! While we don't have the power to make decisions on most things, we are able to make influence. An example is AUSA helped secure the 40% tertiary concession on public transport (something I was proud to be part of with Gabriel, then President, and Kalana, then Engagement VP). If students didn't vote and an executive didn't have the right priorities, then AUSA would not be advocating for students. It's important to have your say in the elections so that AUSA can actually fight for students. 

Praneel: AUSA is supposed to be the voice of every student at this university. It's the organisation that's meant to push back, whether that's against the university itself, against government policy, or against anything that ends up working against students. Who leads that organisation decides whether that voice actually gets used or just sits there on paper. Students should care because this election decides whether they end up with leadership that will actually fight for them, actually listen to them, and make sure every part of this university, every community, every faculty, feels heard. It's not some abstract student politics thing. It affects how well funded student support is, how accessible advocacy actually is, and whether student rights get defended when it matters.

Jethro: They should care because this team of students can help pave the way for their futures.

6. If you win this election, you will be part of the team that decides Craccum's budget for next year. Would you increase Craccum's funding in 2027 to at least $120k? (Yes/No). If you were in the executive this year, why was the budget decreased to the lowest it's ever been in recent years?

Rebecca: If the budgets allow and Craccum is willing to step into a revamp then absolutely. I believe Craccum can do more than what they're doing at the moment and if possible, I'd love to empower growth and change.

Matthew: The executive has to make tough decisions due to the constrained budget. AUSA has a lot it can, should, and wants to do, but not a lot of resources to do it. The question that the executive must ask itself is what is delivering the most value to students and what do students actually want AUSA to put its resources towards. In other words: are students getting at least $120k worth of value from CRACCUM, or will students get more value from their money by investing it into other services. 

The honest and hard truth is that it is increasingly difficult to get people to read a student magazine, especially compared to a decade or two ago, but I am seeing a very positive momentum from this year. We need to help build a long term vision for CRACCUM so that it can return to its glory days of being the beating heart of the campus conversation in this digital world. I would be in support of increasing the budget for CRACCUM but the increase in funding cannot come without a long term strategy. AUSA should work with the current CRACCUM team to start with that strategic planning to ensure that there is continuity between editors, and that it has the ability to grow and become the best it can be. 

Praneel: Yes, I'd want to increase it, if AUSA's commercial revenue keeps growing and we don't end up with new unfunded obligations landing on us in the meantime. As for why this year's number came in where it did, the biggest change is that Craccum isn't funded by the university anymore at all. In past years part of Craccum's budget came directly from the university. That's gone now, so AUSA funds Craccum entirely by itself. Putting together this year's budget meant weighing that new cost against every other portfolio's needs, plus the service commitments AUSA has to the university under our funding agreement. Given all of that, this year's figure was genuinely the highest we could put forward.

What I'd rather point to is what changed alongside the number. I pushed hard for Craccum to have full autonomy over how their budget gets spent, which AUSA had never actually done before. In previous years most of Craccum's budget was tightly controlled by AUSA. This year I supported the Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief's proposed budget and helped get it approved, because I believe in what they're doing with the magazine. That autonomy is already showing up in the engagement, events, and giveaways they've run this year, and that's something I want to keep protecting no matter what the exact dollar figure ends up being.

Jethro: I cannot say for sure. If the opportunity to raise the budget without affecting other aspects of what AUSA funds, then yes.

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