Salient

Gecko no-confidences A-Team

By Laura McQuillan | 24 Sep, 2007

Gecko, Vic’s environmental group, last week passed motions of no confidence in the A-Team and their Environmental Officer candidate Cameron Cotter.

The group said that planned funding cuts to the positions of Environmental Officer, Queer Rights Officer, Women’s Rights Officer, International Officer, and Campaigns Officer, along with the A-Team’s clubs stance, were the reason for the motions – both of which were passed unanimously.

In a statement last week, Gecko said, “It seems obvious that Cameron is only running for the position, so he can destroy it, and thus ruin all the good work that the previous Environmental Officer, Tushara Kodikara, has done. We cannot understand why he would want to do this.”

A-Team Presidential candidate Lukas Schroeter told Salient, “I think the motion is unfortunate and that maybe had Gecko chosen to hear from the A-Team they would have decided not to pursue their course.”

Gecko had invited Cotter to address a meeting, but he was out of the country. Schroeter volunteered to attend, and the A-Team proposed to show a video of Cotter outlining his policies, but Gecko refused both offers, Schroeter says.

Gecko has also sent all members a ‘candidate survey’ with questions asked to the three Presidential candidates and the two Environmental Officer candidates. Schroeter was the only candidate who didn’t respond, and the group believe Cotter’s “continuing insistence on mentioning the A-team …

suggests little real concern for the position he is running for, and more concern for the A-team.

Campaigning for the environment at Vic is a hard enough task when someone’s heart and soul is totally in it, so Cameron would bode bad news in this respect.”