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Bitch Fight Over UniQ Budget

Laura McQuillan

News

24/07/2006





CONCERNS HAVE been raised over the expenditure priorities of UniQ, the VUWSA-affiliated representative group for queer students, with its leadership under fire for alleged fiscal irresponsibility.
VUWSA Women’s Rights Officer Caroline Prendergast last week described UniQ’s leaders as “fucking incompetent”, and alleged the group does little more than eat “shit loads of pizza”. She says that, aside from already spending their entire food-budget, “of the $6000 budget they were allocated for this year, they’ve spent nothing.”
Former President Paul Brown disputes Prendergast’s claims, saying they stem from personal differences between Prendergast and current President Pachali Brewster.
“[The budget has] all been approved by VUWSA so it shouldn’t be under scrutiny. It’s gone past twelve people… and for them to approve that amount, obviously it didn’t need much argument,” Brown says.
Brown also claims that “a third” of UniQ’s food-budget still remains, but hinted the group may need to dip into its fundraised finances later this year to feed members.
VUWSA Queer Officer Will Howell, whilst saying Prendergast’s claims are “not entirely accurate”, also raised concerns about the performance of the rep group. UniQ has some “some serious management issues”, but moves were being made to fix these, he says.
UniQ received $6000 funding from VUWSA this year, a significant increase from 2005. The group’s budget outlines some areas of increased expenditure as “rebuild website”, “branding exercises”, and “executive expenses” – which includes a “preformance [sic] bonus payment” of $800.