Students across the country became very alarmed today with the drawing of the Act Party’s Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill (Roger Douglas) from the weekly parliamentary bills ballot. Within minutes of the news breaking Facebook and other social networking sites became flooded with posts regarding the news some showing disappointment while others hurled abuse and insults at the Act party.
However the Act on Campus official twitter (with a total of 53 followers) read: “Roger Douglas’ VSM (Voluntery Student Membership) bill has just been drawn from the ballot! Game on!”
With the exception of the University of Auckland, all students’ associations in New Zealand currently have universal student membership, which means all students become members of the students’ association at the time of their enrolment. However, they do have the ability to conscientiously object to membership.
Satellite received a copy of the bill and explanatory notes which stated “The purpose of this Bill is to uphold students’ right to freedom of association, by ensuring that no student is compelled to join a students association. This Bill does not seek to damage or limit students associations, but guarantees the right of students to the freedom of association.” However it also “inserts a new section which prevents any person from requiring a student to join, or not join a students association, or pay money to a students association.”
President of the Albany Students’ Association, Rawa Karetai, stated that the news had come as an “unexpected shock” and elaborated further by stating that “independent representation is too important to lose. Uni’s can’t provide representation the way we do.”
However on the Labour Party MP Trevor Mallard stated on his Party’s blog site, Red Alert, “[It] will probably come up the first week after the next recess on Wednesday. Depends on what else is in front of it at that stage.”
