It’s that time of the year! Nominations are now open for the 2011 VUWSA Student Election.
This is your chance to become a student representative in 2012 and help represent the student voice across Victoria. Head to our website, and you’ll find more information and a guide about all the roles and some more important information.
The VSM Bill should be debated again this week in Parliament. The rest of this column will outline in a little more detail the issues I wrote about in an earlier column about the need for an enduring compromise on the issue. The British Conservative Minister for Universities said that “without [students’ associations], universities would be much poorer institutions.” His Government is now thinking about how they can strengthen the role that they play in ensuring Universities are responsive to students.
Contrast this with our Government’s continued support for an ACT Party Bill that will end universal membership of students’ associations and remove the ability for students to ensure that there is a mandated representative organisation on their campus. If the institution decides it doesn’t want one—then there won’t be one.
The only thing that John Key can muster on the issue is to promise to implement a levy which universities could use to replace students’ association services. Despite the fact he is confused about this new levy—it appears he doesn’t care how much you pay or for what, just as long as there is no democratic control over it.
Unfortunately the debate on the Bill has been bogged down in an ideological quagmire. You are stuck between the extreme positions that get all the attention—compulsory membership that means some students must be members of organisations they don’t want to be, or the opposite approach which means there is no requirement to have student representative organisations at all, or any ability for students to ensure there is one.
Evidently, the Government hasn’t really thought about this issue beyond a superficial agreement with the ideology of the ACT Party Bill. What they haven’t done is think about the role and purpose of students’ associations and how they can achieve their own objectives by empowering students to hold public tertiary institutions accountable. They haven’t even asked their own Government departments for proper advice.
Our national students’ association NZUSA, have been looking at ways to improve the current law—upholding the right to freedom of association whilst strengthening associations and ensuring you continue to get the independent representation, advocacy and services you deserve.
In a nutshell, this is what they’ve proposed to National and ACT as a way to gain cross-party consensus and satisfy all sides of the current debate:
• You would still become members of your local association when you enrol
• You can opt-out at any time and without giving a reason
• If you opt-out within the first four weeks of term, you would get a full refund of any association fees
• Membership processes would be administered and promoted by the institution, rather than the students’ association
• Associations would improve their governance and operations through a Code of Practice for democracy and accountability
NZUSA has asked National to adopt a practical, enduring solution like this one. It’s a reasonable, win-win approach that has widespread support.
Unfortunately, despite some individual support within National for allowing fair time for the sector to transition to the new system, the Government has so far dismissed this small practical compromise. You can make yourself heard on this issue by lobbying your local MPs and linking up with your local students’ association. Search ‘Demand A Better Future’ on Facebook and help make this issue too big a risk for National to support.
I hope you had a great break. I did—I went to Rainbow’s End and the national Maori students’ hui. Only six weeks of term left! *