Massey’s student associations move towards merge vote at quick pace

Massey University Students’ Associations Federation (MUSAF) have decided on a short three-week timeline for open consultation on a new governance structure which would see the merge of M@D, MAWSA, ASA and MUSA.   

The open consultation is planned to run from weeks four to six of Semester 2. Co-design has already started with Māori associations. At the end of this week, a hui in Manawatū is expected to take place with core decision makers, notably general presidents and exec members, Māori tumuaki, and Pasifika presidents. 

Although some students have criticised the speed of the consultation, the timeframe has been created in order for the final vote to be undertaken before the 2021 election process, to avoid a messy hand-over between old and new executives. MAWSA President Tessa Guest says MUSAF is still consolidating how the decision-making process will look overall. “We want to do the best by all of our tauira, which is an incredibly complex task when we have four very different cohorts,” she says. 

Over open consultation, there will be two proposals of the merge presented to students. Students will then have their chance to give feedback and preferences. This feedback will then be taken into consideration when forming the final, single proposal of the merge. At a formal vote, students can choose to either accept this proposal or stick with the status quo.  

A formal vote will be done over four separate SGMs for each association about halfway through the semester. The real question is what will happen if, let’s say, the vote fails at MUSA but passes at the other three SGMs? Will the merge still go ahead, leaving an association behind? Or will the failure of one association to pass the proposal mean that all associations decide not to merge? Tessa says, “While feedback and consultation are essential to this process and will shape what we create, we won’t go ahead until we have an official mandate. In terms of aligning our governance structures, we are seeking mandate from each cohort. So, if one cohort doesn’t give us mandate, it’s possible that we won’t go ahead.” 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Students and Global Engagement Tere McGonagle-Daly says he believes the students’ associations are all taking a very considered approach to how best to service the general student body based on the conversations he has been involved with. “It’s also been great to see the general associations more proactively work with the Māori and Pacific associations,” he says.