Anton Issak
Faculty/Degree Held
Economics
Year of Studying/Conferring
II
USYD Positions
FASS Representative, Academic Board 2026
Undergraduate Representative, FASS Faculty Board 2026
Undergraduate Member, FASS Faculty 2026
Other Interests
Hi everyone, my name is Anton and I am a 2nd year Econ student. I live and breathe sports, I am a diehard Liverpool fan (slot out). I am a serious Tame Impala enjoyer (did you know it's just one guy?) and am a self professed History, Star Wars and Catan geek. Additionally, I love spending time with my family, in the gym (theoretically), and the kitchen. Perhaps most importantly, as a student feeling the cost of living crunch like everyone else, I want to use this role to make uni life better and more affordable for all students.
Candidate Policy Statement
Count on Anton
Anyone can promise the world. I'm interested in what's actually achievable. Here's my platform:
COUNT ON CLARITY
- Refocus the USU on its core role as a high quality service provider
- Commit to transparent spending so students know where their money goes
- Ensure decisions are practical, student focused, and outcomes driven
COUNT ON AFFORDABILITY
- Expand off peak “happy hour” pricing to make food cheaper at scale
- Bundle deals (meal + drink) that are consistently cheaper and filling
- Late day discounts on unsold food to reduce waste and lower prices
COUNT ON STRONGER CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
- Increase baseline funding for clubs and societies
- Fix processing delays so societies are approved and funded faster
- Introduce clear service benchmarks so no society waits weeks for responses
COUNT ON SIMPLICITY
- Streamline approvals, reimbursements and event processes
- Give societies more autonomy over how they use funding
- Plain English guides for new society executives
Get to know Anton
Describe the key roles and responsibilities of a USU Board Director.
All the responsibilities of a USU board director are derived from a simple premise: the Union must work for the students who fund it. This means remaining genuinely connected to the student community, and ensuring informed decisions are made within the USU in a transparent manner. These include the boring, but all important tasks, of scrutinising operations, remaining up to speed on key issues, and ensuring the organisation runs efficiently. But underpinning all of this is a commitment to service, advocating for students and ensuring the USU delivers services that genuinely improve student life.
How will you ensure that you can commit the time required to be an effective Board Director?
Serving on the USU Board is a privilege, and must be treated as such. I wouldn’t be putting my hand up if I didn’t believe I could give it the time it deserves. I have previously managed a full study load alongside work, my service commitment, and all other matters a uni student faces, so balancing a demanding schedule is something I've become accustomed to. If elected, I will give this everything it demands, as I have done previously with every commitment I have taken on.
How will you represent the best interests of the student community, while also representing the best interests of the USU?
The honest answer is that you cannot have one without the other. A USU that doesn't serve its students isn't fulfilling its mandate, and students cannot be well served by a Union that isn't functioning effectively. Now what does this mean practically? It means ensuring the USU remains focused on what it exists to do, and doing it well. That is, providing affordable services, vibrant societies, and a lively campus. But good representation doesn't mean waiting for problems to come to you. It means being proactive, and asking questions, and finding out what students actually need before things become issues.
Identify an area of the USU where you would like to see improvement and explain how this will be of benefit to the organisation and/or students.
It’s hard not to sound like a broken record, but the cost of living crisis is real and the USU cannot ignore it. Students are avoiding increasingly expensive campus meals and disengaging from university life because it simply costs too much to be here. The USU’s greatest opportunity for improvement is refocusing on its core mandate, being an exceptional and affordable service provider. That includes practical measures like introducing off peak discounts or “happy hour” pricing to make meals cheaper while increasing foot traffic. Students don’t need another political body, they need a USU that makes campus life more accessible.