By Zanny Begg
BRISBANE —It is almost certain that a referendum on whether the University of Queensland should affiliate to the National Union of Students (NUS) will be put to students during May. How activists should approach this referendum has caused some debate.
UQ has traditionally been a stronghold of opposition to the government's attacks on education. In the late 1980s UQ students organised a mass boycott of the Higher Education Administration Charge because they saw it as the first step in the government's plans to introduce up-front fees. Activists at UQ played a leading role in mass demonstrations across Australia against up-front fees.
The ALP, seeking a way of containing student opposition, established NUS. The aim was to politically dominate the campaign through NUS structures.
Affiliation campaigns were run on most major campuses during the late
'80s. In 1987 a referendum to have UQ affiliate to the Queensland Union of Students, as part of the process of forming NUS, was defeated.
Karen Fletcher was editor of the UQ student paper Semper at the time. She explained to Green Left, "The referendum went down because it was clear to activists that the union structure was being set up by the ALP to maintain their domination over the student movement and that they were more concerned about protecting the ALP then they were about defending students interests".
Affiliation to NUS remains controversial. The NUS Queensland executive has shown it is not serious about building student campaigns. Last year, in a deal between the Labor factions that control NUS, the position of education officer was amalgamated with that of president. The campaign budgets for education, environment and women's areas were reduced or abolished.
Kathy Newnam, a Resistance activist at UQ, explained: "NUSQ is not serious about fighting for students' rights. Not only have they removed many of the office bearer positions; they have also made it clear they are not prepared to open out the organisation of campaigns to other activists.
"The clearest example of this is their attitude to the education campaign. NUSQ has tried to sabotage the May 8 national day of action in Queensland by shutting down the rally that the cross campus committee had organised and declaring that only NUS and the student unions should have a say over activities on this day."
Newnam said that Resistance is supporting affiliation of UQ to NUS but that this support is very critical. "Since the election of the Liberals, NUS has been more willing to allow some sort of a fight back against the government's attacks. But their attitude to May 8 shows that they still play a conservatising role in the campaign. Resistance supports affiliation to fight to change the leadership of NUS. We have to break the hold of the ALP over NUS."