Students in Western Australia are being called on to take a stand on their universities’ complicity in the Gaza genocide via student referendums being held this week.
At the University of Western Australia and Curtin University students will vote on their campuses on August 26 and 27, respectively, in a national referendum. The goal of the referendum is to pressure the Federal Government to take more action and for universities to end ties to weapons companies, such as Curtin’s partnership with American aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin, that supplies weapons to Israel.
Universities across Australia are hosting referendum voting days between August 20 and 28. Australian National University in Canberra was one of the first, voting on August 21, while University of Sydney students will vote on August 28.
A general student meeting has been called by the Curtin Student Guild to facilitate the Curtin referendum vote.
The Guild has a history of involvement with pro-Palestine events, such as the recent Nationwide March for Palestine in Forrest Chase on August 24. The Guild was also involved in the Curtin Student Solidarity Encampment in 2024 and was instrumental in pressuring Curtin’s leadership to end their partnership with the Israeli tertiary institution, Ben-Gurion University.
Curtin Guild president Dylan Storer has made his stance on Gaza clear: “We believe that what’s happening in Palestine is a genocide. I’d encourage you to use the term ‘genocide’; I think that’s factually accurate from what’s happening at the moment.”
The referendum is being run by Students for Palestine and the National Union of Students.
Coming after one of the largest protests Perth has experienced, where according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation an estimated 25,000 people marched, the referendum represents an opportunity to magnify the influence of the pro-Palestine movement in Australia.
Greens WA MLC Sophie McNeill, one of the speakers at the August 24 protest march, called on students to vote in the referendum.
McNeill called out Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the Labor Party’s continued collaboration with Israel during the march, a sentiment that students at the rally agreed with. While Albanese has announced the Government’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, some have deemed it patronising, with this decision potentially doing more harm than good for Palestinians.
National Union of Students’ vocational education officebearer and Students for Palestine organiser Ella Marchiond said: “I think it’s just a symbolic gesture to cover up the fact that the Australian government has been fully complicit in Israel’s genocide from the start. They have not cut any of their political, economic or military ties to Israel.”
Students for Palestine and Socialist Alternative member Leyla Seif added: “What the Australian government and other governments are proposing to recognise is a list of conditions enforced on the Palestinian people.”
“I think the Australian Government is planning on recognising a graveyard.”
Leyla Seif
Students for Palestine representatives expressed gratitude for the support they have received for the referendum from other student clubs.
“It’s uplifting. We’ve been part of this movement for the last two years, so we’ve seen its highs and lows, but to see that two years on, there’s this much fervour to it when we’ve seen a bit of apathy, it’s incredible,” Ms Seif said
While the results of the student referendum remain to be seen, the hosts and the Guild have plans to make the referendum’s results visible to those outside of university life.
Mr Storer said: “The National Student Referendum has been endorsed by the National Union of Students, it is being promoted by organisations like Students of Palestine and also supported and endorsed by organisations like the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, so those will be channels that will be utilised to get the message out there.”
The Student General Meeting for Curtin University students will be hosted on August 27 in Watson Lecture Hall (307.103) at noon, and the meeting will require at least 100 students to be present to proceed and to register as part of the Curtin vote. Students who can’t make it to the meeting on their campus on the day and students from other universities, TAFEs or schools can vote online through the Students of Palestine website.
The two questions students are voting on are: 1. Students censure the Australian government for its complicity in the genocide in Gaza. We demand an end to all weapons sales to Israel by Australia and Australian companies, and call for sanctions on Israel. 2. Students call on all Australian universities to end their complicity with Israel’s genocide by ceasing all partnerships with weapons companies.