To Sell or not to Sell

Time for motion number 2. A product of the Tees/Edwards consortium, it read 'That this SRC recommends that if adequate alternative financial arrangements can be made for the debts and liabilities of NZUSA, that NZUSA should retain ownership of Student Union House, at 32 Blair Street, Wellington.

This is not the first time that this kind of thing has come up at an SRC. Last year a motion was passed saying the building should be sold, but then changing it's mind is one of the many liberties that SRC takes upon itself. Andrew said he was opposed to selling the building because it was the only concrete asset NZUSA has, and if it was sold, all the proceeds would be gobbled up by ever hungry debts. The "alternative financial arrangements" would be the taking out [unclear: of] a $75,000 mortgage on the building which would incorporate all the existing debts.

Gerard Winter, who seemed to regard this SRC as a marvellous opportunity to shbot his mouth off on just about every subject (whether it was on the subject under debate or not), spoke next, saying that NZUSA was an organisation that consumed large amounts of our money and gave absolutely nothing to us in return. What assurances have we, he asked, that NZUSA will be able to find a financial backer. And [unclear: secondly], how do we know that NZUSA will remain intact for very much longer (at this time, Canterbury was debating whether or not to pull out of the organisation - it infact decided last week to remain in NZUSA Tees explained that it was silly to recommend selling the building now when the price we would get would probably be much lower than the real value of the building. Inspired by Andrew's stirring rhetoric the masses passed the motion with no further ado.