Uni denies receiving ATM petition

by Jessica Seah

May 2, 2008

MURDOCH UNIVERSITY claims it has not received a petition the student guild says it lodged late last year to install other ATMs on campus to ease queues at the only existing ATM.

“The petition was endorsed by over 330 Murdoch students and staff,” said Reece Harley, last year’s guild president under whose watch the petition was devised. “I have spoken with the director of Commercial Services at least three or four times in person last year regarding this.

“She acknowledged the problem and promised that the problem would be dealt with as a priority within the next six months.”

 Mr Harley said Commercial Services had told him the ANZ Bank had quoted the uni $40,000 to install an ATM, which Murdoch declined, and that the uni was negotiating with other banks.

However, Lisa Spiers, Director of Commercial Services, said she’d never seen the petition.

 “I haven’t received any petition regarding this and I do not know if it is true,” Ms Spiers said. “I also do not know about any quotation from ANZ.

“Reece and I have spoken about a lot of things, but never once was it regarding the installation of an ATM.”

Ms Spiers said the uni was looking to get another ATM on campus, but it was not a high priority.

“I am not willing to make any commitments until substantial checks are made,” she said.

Andrea Tombleson from ANZ’s WA HQ said there’d been no formal communication from the uni asking for an ATM.

“There are no means to check if such a quotation has been made,” Ms Tombleson said, declining any further comment.

Murdoch University boasts a population of 15,000 students, who along with staff, share only one BankWest ATM on campus. The only other nearby ATM is across South Street, in an off-campus Caltex service station.