For Immediate Release

Is National smarter than Aussies?

Students are today hopeful that National will keep its word and not support Roger Douglas’ voluntary membership of students’ associations bill past its first reading.

OPSA expects that once the bill is directed to a select committee and the severe damage the same legislation has done to associations and student services in Australia - and the over $80M costs and 1000 redundancies - it will be dropped or significantly changed.

“Although we are concerned National did not initially vote it down, we are satisfied that evidence from Australia will be enough to convince any reasonable select committee of the stupidity of full-blown voluntary membership and reinforce to National why they said they wouldn’t change the current legislation” said Meegan Cloughley, OPSA president.

Currently students at each institution can choose between voluntary and “compulsory” membership (the vast majority of campuses have chosen compulsory). With “compulsory” membership all students automatically become a member of a students’ association unless they choose to opt-out.

ACT’s bill differs from previous attempts at voluntary membership. It will not only force voluntary membership on all campuses irrespective; but it is essentially the same as the “full-blown” type tried in recently in Australia, where institutions are not allowed to charge a compulsory services levy and use this to buy services from students’ associations.

“Despite Douglas’ crocodile tears claiming it is not designed to harm students’ associations, looking at its effects in Australia only an idiot would actually believe it is intended to do anything but harm associations.” said Meegan Cloughley.

During electioneering National’s education spokesperson, Paul Hutchinson, said at 2008’s July national student conference that no National government would support a change to student membership legislation as it currently stands (Salient, 5 July 2008).
 
“We hope National will be good to their word, and do not change the current legislation that everyone, except the 1% ACT Party, seems able to live with” said Meegan Cloughley, OPSA president.

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