By Lloyd Burr
Students from Victoria University have descended on Parliament in a last-ditch bid to convince the Government to pull its support from ACT’s voluntary student membership bill.
MPs from Labour, the Green Party, Mana and the Maori Party, who are against the bill, joined students on the steps of Parliament to protest the bill.
New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) co-president David Do brought 98 balloons along to the protest to signify the 98 percent of select committee submissions that were against the bill.
He says only two percent of submissions were in favour of ACT’s proposal.
The bill, officially called the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill, has enough parliamentary support to pass this afternoon and will make membership of university student associations voluntary.
In all New Zealand universities, apart from Auckland, membership of student associations is automatic and students have membership fees added to their student loans.
ACT’s bill, when it passes, will mean membership is not automatic and students will have to join the associations on their own accord.
Associations around the country are vehemently against the idea because it means their membership numbers, and their income, will drop.
Fellow 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 today, it will come into force next year.
3 News