Mathew Chuk

Mathew Chuk
General Secretary of the National Union of Students
In office 2006–2007
Preceded by	Michael de Bruyn
Succeeded by	Ben Maxfield
Personal details
Born	19 June 1984 Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Political party	Independent

Mathew Chuk (born 19 June 1984) is an Australian former student politician. He was the General Secretary of the National Union of Students for the 2007 academic year and is only the second independent to occupy the position in the organisation's history.^[1][2] His election to the position, backed by a coalition of left-wing factions and Liberal supporters, brought to an end a seventeen-year long period of control of the key position Labor affiliated students. Chuk previously served as the 93rd president of the University of Western Australia Student Guild.

NUS General Secretary

In late 2006, Chuk was elected to the position of General Secretary of the National Union of Students. Mathew Chuk's election heralded the first time in sixteen years a non-Labor affiliated candidate was elected to this position. His achievement is all the more remarkable considering he was an independent, and as such not aligned with any political party, relying on the votes of the Australian Liberal Students' Federation to win election.^{[citation needed]}

This result came about due to several unique circumstances apparent during the 2006 NUS conference. In previous years, a deal between the two Labor-aligned factions (Labor Left and Right) saw them share President and National General Secretary. However, at the 2006 conference, the two Labor factions no longer controlled the majority of the votes.^{[citation needed]}

Independents and all other Left factions pledged their votes to Chuk, with the two Labor factions supporting the Labor candidate, leaving the ALSF with the casting votes. The ALSF elected Chuk.^[3] Despite Liberals being responsible for his election, Chuk named the defeat of the Howard Government as one of his major goals as General Secretary.^[4]

See also

• University of Western Australia Student Guild
• National Union of Students of Australia

References

1. ^ Balancing act can upset students | The Australian
2. ^ Go to Burke | The Australian
3. ^ Student union's lurch to the left delights the right - National - smh.com.au
4. ^ The Australian, 13-12-2006, Ed: 1 - All-round Country, Pg: 027, 560 words , FEATURES

Persondata
Name	Chuk, Mathew
Alternative names
Short description	Student politician
Date of birth	19 June 1984
Place of birth	Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia
Date of death
Place of death