By Alison Dellit
MELBOURNE — With the election of a Howard federal government on March 2, most student unions at Victorian universities are left with significantly less funds for 1996.
In 1994, the state Liberal government introduced Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) legislation which makes no provision for spending on campaigns to defend students' interests, elections of student bodies or student newspapers, office bearers, affirmative action campaigns and so on. Contrary to propaganda peddled by the Liberals, students must still pay a compulsory fee, but elected student bodies have no power to direct this money into the campaigns and services they priorities. Instead, the money is only able to be spent on food services, meeting facilities, sport, child-care, counselling and legal advice, health care, housing, the arts, debating, libraries and academic support, insurance and orientation.
For the last 12 months, Victorian student unions have been using grants from the federal government to survive. Simon Crean, the former minister for education, introduced legislation aimed at providing student unions with funding to cover the shortfall caused by VSU. However, this legislation left funding approval at the discretion of the minister — now the Liberal's Senator Amanda Vanstone.
The Melbourne University student union was the only Victorian union to receive 1996 federal funding before the elections. This leaves most student unions in a desperate situation. At La Trobe university the student newspaper has been shut down due to lack of funds and student office bearers on many campuses may not be paid from this week.
The push for VSU was based on the false claim that students were being forced to join student unions and pay a compulsory membership fee. In fact, most student organisations allowed for voluntary membership. Automatic membership simply entitled all students to participate in the democratic processes of their student union unless they chose not to do so by resigning. It did not impose any obligations.
Moreover, membership has always been free. It is the universities and TAFE colleges that have levied fees to provide funding for student activities and services. This means students have to pay the fee even if they choose not to become a member.
Student unions play an essential role in defending students' interests. For more than a decade, governments have been making moves towards a user-pays education system: overseas and post-graduate students and now students who are permanent residents but not citizens have to pay up-front fees; all students now pay into the Higher Education Contribution Scheme; and Austudy payments have declined in value from a livable wage to a subsidy.
VSU has been introduced to destroy student unions in Victoria and weaken the ability of the student movement to fight against attacks on higher education funding. Under a Howard federal government, it is a move that students in other states should anticipate.
In Victoria, students are organising a campaign around the slogan "Student control of student affairs". The first anti-VSU demonstration for 1996 will be on March 28. Actions have been organised on each campus and students will meet outside Museum station at 2.30pm for a central rally.