National Museum building designed by
Joseph Reed in 1863 became the first home of the Student Union. Mostly demolished during 1960s renovations, parts of the interior and exterior remained embedded within its later namesake. . The University of Melbourne Union was founded in 1884 to promote the common interests of students and assist in social interactions between its members. It set up headquarters in the 1863
Joseph Reed designed gothic revival styled National Museum building which was renamed Union House by 1885. The Melbourne University Students’ Representative Council was formed as an independent, unincorporated association at a special general meeting called by the Sports Union Council on 19 September 1907.
Renovations and additions to Union House In 1935, the Union proposed to replace its building with a larger 3 storey free gothic design that would incorporate the shell of the 1863 building. However the works did not proceed. Instead, in 1938 a new theatre, the Union theatre, designed by Philip Burgoyne Hudson, was added. The deal was for MUSUi to sublease student apartments to international students from the Optima Group. It did not proceed. On 30 September 2003, Vice-Chancellor
Alan Gilbert informed MUSUi that the university was terminating the 2003 Funding Agreement, effectively stripping it of any future money, citing "evidence of breaches by MUSUI of its obligations under the Agreement" (the agreement being "providing facilities, services, or activities of direct benefit to students at the institution"). He also cited a "serious breakdown in governance, financial management, and accountability structures within MUSU." On 6 February 2004, the union was placed into
liquidation by the
Supreme Court of Victoria after a vote by the Student Union Executive. MUSU's
liquidator, Dean Royston McVeigh, said in his provisional liquidator's report that the union owed debts of $4.3 million (mainly to the University of Melbourne) but only had assets of $3.5 million. McVeigh acknowledged that these "debts" were the result of
creative accounting by the university, with the university ultimately relinquishing any claim to such "debts". As a result, it was no longer student-controlled (a prerequisite for affiliation to
NUS) and was in any case unable to pay affiliation fees. A new constitution was approved. Master Ewart Evans, who was presiding over the hearings of the liquidators' examination until his retirement in 2005, was critical of the "somewhat precipitative" timing of civil court proceedings, which McVeigh quickly settled out of court after much adverse publicity about his own fees and expenses believed to total more than $8 million prior to producing a liquidator's report and convening a meeting of creditors. The downfall of MUSU was satirised by the
Union Players in the play
Friday Night at the Union in 2004.
Recent political history Following the 2004 annual election, a coalition between the Liberal Club and the Labor Right was defeated by a cooperative left made up of
National Labor Students (ALP Club),
Socialist Alternative, and a group of progressive students who are not involved in other politics called Activate. The positions won by the left groups were for an interim student representative committee established by the university to oversee student representation and advocacy until the incorporation of UMSU. UMSU saw few changes in its power dynamic from 2005-07. In 2007, National Labor Students held the President, Secretary, and Education (Academic) Offices. The makeup of the 2007 Student Council had no
ALSF presence (due to the Liberal Student tickets withdrawing from the annual elections prior to the opening of the ballot). The 2007 UMSU budget, due to funding cuts caused by
VSU, was reduced from just over $2 million in 2006 to $1.23 million in 2007. This resulted in reductions in funding for departments, particularly those that traditionally have been considered high, such as the Activities, Clubs, Societies, and Media Departments. In 2008, the National Labor Students and Grassroots tickets, running as StandUp! and Activate, respectively, won most of the paid positions in the Student Union. Their tenure in 2009 was highlighted by difficulties in passing budgetary support towards the
National Union of Students and
Students for Palestine organisations. 2009 saw nearly all major elected positions won by a Labor Right-Liberal coalition called Synergy. On Student Council, Synergy were elected to four positions (two Liberals and two Student Unity), and five positions were won by iUnion, a newly established ticket run by international students and former StandUp! office bearers. 2012 saw the union criticised for the decision to not lay a $200 wreath at the ANZAC dawn service, with President Mark Kettle stating that "participating in the ANZAC Day service would be ‘glorifying war’". There was also a publication in a major daily newspaper that student resources had been used to support "a live and extreme sex show performed on campus for "sex education" purposes." 2013 again saw the union criticised when they passed a motion to unreservedly celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher, resulting in media coverage from the Herald Sun and a large student backlash against the union over Facebook.
Presidents == Affiliation to NUS ==