By Lloyd Burr
Student protests are not usually civil or quiet affairs but today, student protests against ACT’s voluntary student membership bill at Auckland, Waikato and Otago universities were silent.
Students taped their mouths shut and marched with signs in silence to show the Government that the student voice will be lost if the bill becomes law.
The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill, which has enough parliamentary support to pass on Wednesday, makes membership of students’ associations voluntary and creates an opt-in membership system rather than the current opt-out system.
In all New Zealand universities, apart from Auckland, membership of students’ associations is automatic and students have membership fees added to their student loans.
ACT’s bill will mean that membership is not automatic and students will have to join the associations on their own accord.
Students’ associations are vehemently against the idea because it means their membership numbers, and their income, will drop.
The national body for students, the New Zealand Union of Students’ Association (NZUSA), organised ‘silent sit-in’ protests at Auckland, Waikato and Otago universities today.
The protests are part of the last-minute bid to convince the National Party not to support the bill, which NZUSA says will “undermine independent representation on campus”.
NZUSA co-president Max Hardy says voluntary student membership is “one of the biggest threats to a strong independent student voice for many years”.
“It will splinter and undermine the collective voice and contribution of students to the tertiary community.
“National still has an opportunity to drop its support for this extreme and inflexible Bill and instead work with students on fairer alternatives for improving student services and representation, rather than gutting them,” Mr Hardy says.
The bill, drafted by ACT MP Roger Douglas but now in Heather Roy’s name, was drawn from the ballot in 2009.
If it passes this week, it will come into force next year.
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