By Natasha Simons
High school student groups and Resistance in all states except Tasmania are stepping up preparations this week for a national high school strike.
The strike will be held on August 29 so that high school students can join the tertiary student national day of action against the Liberal government's cuts to education funding, increases to HECS and further restrictions on access to Austudy.
A stall held by Resistance outside Corrimal High School in Wollongong last week which distributed leaflets calling for strike action received a great response. Phones at the Wollongong Resistance Centre ran hot with enthusiasm for the strike after the headmaster of the school announced that all leaflets were to be handed in and students suspended if they took strike action. Most high school students who rang said they had the support of their parents, who were also intending to come to the August 29 rally at Wollongong University.
In Melbourne, support for the strike has grown, beginning with the 1000-strong high school student demonstration against attacks on education on August 16. In Sydney, the word is spreading fast, with schools ringing up for more copies of the walkout leaflet.
In Perth, high school students have helped form the Education and Training Action Group, which also involves TAFE and university students. The group is producing a four-page broadsheet and has planned a demonstration on September 5, the day Perth high school students will strike.
In Brisbane, Resistance has put up posters around schools and is holding a series of stalls outside high schools this week. A media conference announcing the walkout has also been held.
Although no strike has been called in Hobart, the Education Action Coalition, based at Tasmania University, addressed the Rosny College school assembly on August 23, calling on students to join the campaign against education cuts.
To find out more about the strike, phone Resistance in your city.