Universities & Student Politics 1

In recent weeks the issue of compulsory student fees has re-surfaced on the Australian political landscape. Prior to 2005 non academic student services such on all major Australian public university campuses were administered by the student union, student representative council or student guild, from compulsory fees paid by the students at university. These fees ranged from as low as in some cases $75 a year up to in some cases $600 a year.

In 2005 the Federal coalition government introduced legislation which made the collecting of these compulsory fees’s illegal. The government argument for the legislation was ideological; they talked about freedom of association and the right to have a choice. The argument against which was also ideological, and mounted by the National body of Students organization across Australia, was that the government was suppressing political expression and that they were denying student control of student affairs.

Both arguments on paper were weak, but the legislation got through for three reasons-

1. The Coalition government had control of the upper house (Senate).


2. The National Union of Students and student organizations across Australia had grown out of touch with the ordinary university student.


3. They didn’t work with other groups to mount a credible national campaign, which captured the hearts and minds of Australian’s like the ACTU did with the fight against work choices.

The impact of these fees being made illegal was different for each organization depending on there circumstances. In Western Australia the student guilds almost didn’t survive due to the fact that they had all ready lived through eight years of voluntary fees under a previous coalition state government. In other states organizations had to tighten there belts and make massive cutbacks, it basically meant the end of the gravy train, and for the national body it was the last nail in the coffin of an all ready broken down and un-representative body.

However this didn’t have to happen the National body saw this coming they new that the Coalition government elected in 1996, when given the opportunity would move to make these fees illegal. So why did they do nothing? Why didn’t they reform there organizations? Why didn’t they plan for a rainy day?

Well the answers to each of these questions can be summed up in one word Factionalism. The warring tribes within the tribe had become un-democratic themselves; they were more interested in doing deals, getting one up on each other rather than looking after the best interests of the majority of students or working together to reform the national body and plan for the future. How do I know this well I was once right in the heart of student politics I was once an officer bearer with the National body in Western Australia, and a former student guild President as well as a member of one of these factions.

On two occasions I attended conferences of the national body, and on both of these occasions I saw things that would shock you and things that I just could simple not believe. At one national conference during a debate on a particular policy which I can’t remember now there was a brawl, and at the same conference our lives were threaten and for the rest of the conference security had to escort us everywhere. It was after this second incident that I asked myself what am I doing here the national body has lost its way.

It is from this moment onwards that I changed my view, I became a harsh critic of these organizations and there real value to the average student on a university campus in Australia. While I welcome in recent days talk by the new Federal Labor government of a re-introduction of a compulsory student service fee, I strongly urge the government not to allow student organization cart blanch with the money, but instead make it that the universities administer the money in consultation with these organizations. That way this money will not be wasted on things that don’t help the average student on and Australian public university campus.