No leaks please: Uni staff warned against sharing merger brand

Merger talks are ramping up between the University of Adelaide and UniSA, with the uneasy couple working overtime on a big launch for the new Adelaide University brand.

The merged university’s logo and website is pencilled in for a mid-July unveiling ahead of the mammoth institution opening its rebranded doors in January 2026.

In an all-staff email sent on Monday, the University of Adelaide’s Jessica Gallagher and UniSA’s Alan Brideson said: “In mid-July 2024, Adelaide University will be launched on the world stage with a series of events and campaigns.”

“We will create ‘moments that matter’ as we see the university and its new brand expression come to life.”

It appears, however, that the moment that matters most is keeping the new logo out of the hands of prying journalists.

Staff were issued a stern warning about leaking the new brand and given a reminder about how much the two universities appreciate keeping commercial information under wraps.

“It is likely that over the coming weeks as we prepare for launch staff will see elements of the proposed new brand and other confidential commercial information regarding Adelaide University,” Gallagher and Brideson said.

“All staff must ensure that this confidential information is kept strictly confidential.

“It is our shared responsibility to meet this obligation and help to ensure that our launch is an absolute success.”

For the staff members who don’t feel like following instructions, InSider would be happy to hear from you.

Spacing out the green fields

The Labor Party has taken a very earnest concern this year with how things in South Australia are named.

Upper House MP Reggie Martin got the ball rolling in April with a call to scrub Edward Charles Frome’s name off the state electorate of Frome due to the man’s actions during the frontier wars.

Fellow Labor backbencher and naming enthusiast John Fulbrook then chimed in with his own request, asking the electoral boundaries commission to rename the seat of Playford because his constituents are getting it confused with the unrelated council area of Playford.

But Fulbrook put another urgent issue on the agenda this week, namely: Is the suburb of Green Fields spelt Green Fields or Greenfields?

The small northern suburb is listed as Green Fields in the Yellow Pages, the census and Australia Post, yet, its closest train station is spelt Greenfields as are the nearby Greenfields Wetlands.

Putting aside that Green Fields/Greenfields is actually full of brownfield (Brown Field?) land, Fulbrook has asked the Surveyor General to settle the matter once and for all.

“I continually come across the suburbs being spelt in either way,” Fulbrook wrote.

Greenfields train station near Green Fields. Photo: Google Maps

“In some instances, it has even been referred to as both variations from the same source.

“I will be greatly appreciative if you could clarify the correct spelling for me.”

Fulbrook’s own Facebook page can count itself among the sources where you can see the suburb spelt both Green Fields and Greenfields. No wonder he wants clarification!

Labor MP John Fulbrook knows all too well the trouble with Green Fields/Greenfields.

InSider also contacted the Surveyor General’s office for an answer. His office told us: “It’s two words and that is how it is gazetted.”

Council’s biscuit break

Viewers of Tuesday night’s Adelaide City Council livestream were treated to a silent short film when meeting procedures were paused due to a councillor shortage.

The stream was muted as the council took a quick break since they had lost quorum – the minimum number of voting members needed for a meeting to continue.

The break, which was silenced on the stream, lasted approximately seven minutes. In this time, you can see councillors gesturing with frustration, Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith getting out of her seat and showing off her pink power suit and council staff going for a biscuit break.

The break was prompted by InSider’s old friend, Henry Davis, who left the chamber to use his phone. Not unlike South Australian high schools, the council has a phone ban during the meeting – which is not the only thing the two institutions have in common.

Davis was the fourth councillor to leave the room triggering the break, as Councillor Mary Couros was out of the room due to a conflict of interest and councillors Arman Abrahimzadeh and Simon Hou staggered their exit earlier in the meeting before the drama ensued. This is on top of the two councillors that are currently on leave. It seems few have the stamina InSider does to withstand these meetings.

The video, which at the time of writing has a whopping 195 views, is available to watch online and its silent film portion kicks off at 2:32:38. If that’s your thing, InSider recommends watching it on 2x speed.