Back in 1994, I penned an article for the Macquarie University Liberal Club’s organ Liberal University Students’ Tabloid (LUST) supporting the introduction of voluntary student unionism (VSU).
I argued that university services were like textbooks. You didn’t have to buy a brand new textbook. You could borrow someone else’s, buy a second hand copy or borrow one from the library.
Similarly, you don’t have to make use of university union services and facilities. You shouldn’t have to pay for things you don’t use, nor should you have to pay for a representative body you don’t necessarily want representing you. Union fees, whether for services or representation, should be voluntary.
VSU was a sacred cow of the Australian Liberal Students Federation (ALSF), an umbrella body of student Liberal clubs. The NSW Young Libs, then dominated by the small “L” faction known as “the Group”, opposed VSU. Instead, they supported Voluntary Student Representation (VSR). This meant that you still had to pay fees for services but not for representation (which, at Macquarie, generally was spent on sending lefties off to some commune in Nicaragua, then ruled by Sandanista communists, or Cuba).
Former Howard staffer and State MP for Lane Cove Adrian Roberts was President of the UTS Union. In those days he was aligned with the Group and supported VSR while opposing VSU. Few NSW State MP’s (including conservatives) supported VSU. In Federal Parliament, VSU was supported by Howard, Abbott and Minchin while it was opposed by Brendan Nelson, Robert Hill and others regarded as small “L” libs.
When Howard became leader in 1996, the internal debate over student unionism was considered won by supporters of VSU. We regarded student unions as baby-parliaments where ALP hacks honed their skills. Liberal students rarely got anywhere unless disguised as something else or running joke tickets. For instance, current right wing Liberal Party President Nick Campbell ran in Macquarie union board elections on a green ticket.
The Howard government brought in VSU. In theory, it was a sound move. Union services are like textbooks. But as in practice, as reported in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, universities often have to make up the shortfall in student union services by spending money that would otherwise go to salaries or research. VSU has hit campuses in regional areas particularly hard, which probably explains why National Party MPs like Barnaby Joyce continue to oppose it.
If Rudd reintroduces compulsory fees for limited student services, that should be a good thing. But any move to force students to pay for student representative bodies could signal a return to the days when student money was spent sending lefties to communes while Labor students get subsidised political training.
Perhaps Greg M could demonstrate from whom and where is quote is from?
Because I’m left wondering if Greg has been smoking the horsedung alluded to earlier…….
A better analogy is with Council rates. People who don’t have children can’t get out of paying their rates on the grounds that they shouldn’t have to finance child care centres. Collective provision of some services is a characteristic of any community. By poooling our money we can get a better outcome for all. The only argument is about which services are best provided on a fee-for -service basis, and which should be funded centrally, or whether it should be a combination of the two. Comes down to whether there is a common interest in providing that service or not. Is it feasible to provide it privately? Will some people be unable to pay? Will it cease to exist without subsidy? These are the issues that any community encounters, and universities are no different. By all means apply some discipline to the provision of services to keep the fees down, but don’t cut them off altogether.
To JamesK, the quote is from the article you were commenting on. Did you even read it? Irfan states that whilst he was at Maquarie fees were spent on sending leftie students to Nicaragua and in the first line he states that he was there in 1994. Although I gotta say that when I was in uni in the mid nineties our student union was dominated by the far right of the labor students and by far right I mean slightly to the right of Genghis Khan. Trust me, Nicaragua and Cuba were not their top choice of travel destination.
On a more serious note, no one is saying fees are” ‘just’ fair and equitable taxes for the ethically noble student union to provide necessary services for the good of the student body as a whole” What is being said is that compusory fees for services enrich campus life and even if you fund organisations you don’t agree with or services you don’t use the alternative of not having those services you do use is the far worse option.
In particular the funding of those political parties that you don’t personally agree with seems to be a problem for the pro VSU camp. I have a news flash for you, you fund political parties you don’t agree with every day. Personally I will never vote Family First, One Nation or whatever other crack pot far right political party shows up next but I will defend their right to government provided political funding because some members of the community do support then and those people have every right to be represented. To argue that the Student Unions were dominated by the left and why should the poor Liberal students fund them, I would suggest looking at the funding given to the left wing political groups and the Young Liberals. I suspect that given the incredibly low support base for the Liberals in the unions that proportionally they got far more money per union member who actually voted for them.
Macquarie University? Wasn’t their student union president Victor Ma investigated last year for misusing funds to buy tables at a LIBERAL party fundraiser?
Oh please – get over it. Students need services. Stop sooking if you don’t use the services. I don’t winge that I don’t use public hospitals but my taxes do. I am happy that I contribute to my society. Knowing that I pay taxes to ensure that my society has a safety net for health and welfare means that I can go to sleep at night.