Heather Roy's Diary

Freedom of Association for Students Too.

This week I was pleased to take back sponsorship of the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill - also known as the Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) Bill – from my colleague Sir Roger Douglas.  I originally drafted the bill in 2005 and it sat in the Members’ Ballot from then until 2008 without being drawn.  When I became a Minister Sir Roger took it over and the bill was drawn from the ballot in his name.  He has shepherded it through its First Reading in the House and it’s currently at Select Committee where submissions are being heard.

So why does ACT feel so strongly about voluntary student membership and is it really so important?

It’s important because the overarching principle is that of Freedom of Association.  The practical considerations of the current law should also be considered carefully.

Currently, tertiary students around the country (everywhere in fact other than those studying at Auckland Uni) are the only remaining group that are forced to join an organisation and pay the fees that they set.  ACT has always believed that individuals should be free to pursue their own interests, unless they violate the rights of others.  Compulsory membership of unions went in 1983 and students remain the only group compelled to join what is essentially a union whether they want to or not.

Students are having their freedom violated.  Kiwis prize their freedom, especially freedom of speech and freedom of association; the right to join any group you want or not to join a group with which you disagree.  So important is our right to freedom of association that it is protected in the Bill of Rights.  My ‘VSM’ Bill would finally see students have the same freedom that the rest of us currently enjoy.

As the situation presently stands, a student must pay the student association fees set by that body at the University or Polytechnic they attend.  The exception is Auckland University where membership is voluntary.  The law does provide an ‘out’ – those who object to belonging to a student association can arrange for their fees to be paid (by the association) to a charity, but I know from speaking to those who have taken this course it does not happen smoothly or without concerted debate!

Compulsory membership and payment of fees means the guaranteed income students associations receive, regardless of their actions, results in associations not actually representing students’ views and in many cases undertaking partisan political activities.  There are a great many examples of student resources being wasted and some associations have indulged in resource mismanagement for the personal gain of association officials.

Sadly for students, this situation is currently playing itself out at Whitireia Polytechnic, where over $1 million dollars in cash and assets have gone missing from the students’ association.
(http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/4030024/Whitireia-student-losses-climb-to-1m)

Unsurprisingly, Whitireia students are angry, and are demanding to know where this money has gone.  However being angry is cold comfort when under the present legislation students still have to pay the association’s fees if they want to study.  Perhaps the most frivolous use of students’ money was the well publicised case of a Victoria University Student Association Official spending thousands of dollars on a psychic hotline.

Not all are guilty of such behaviour however, but students should be able to choose.  Making students’ association membership voluntary will ensure that they are more accountable to their members.  There is nothing like having to provide quality services to attract members and to, reduce the risk of fraud occurring.  Associations would have a greater incentive to provide services that students actually want – demand and supply in action.

Opponents of VSM claim that if students are not forced to pay the union fees no-one will join and services and the student voice will go.  This attitude merely says to me that the associations have no belief in themselves.  If they provide services students want they will prosper.  Auckland University is a case in point.  Membership is voluntary there and students do join.
The reason any customer service outlet provides quality services is because they know that their customers have the opportunity to shop elsewhere.  As soon as you have the option of opposing shoddy service delivery by withdrawing your money from the association, they, out of necessity to survive, become far more accountable.

There have been over 4000 submissions made to the Select Committee on this Bill, so I have a lot of reading to do over the coming weeks.  I also have a few plans to ramp up the campaign over the next month.  My first job is convincing other parties in Parliament – including the National Party - that Freedom of Association is a principle worthy of support.

Lest We Forget
2 September, 1960

Fifty years ago this week New Zealand literally won Gold twice at the Rome Olympics.  Peter Snell won the 800m and within half an hour Murray Halberg won the 5000m to complete a track double.

21 year old Snell was a little known middle-distance runner, having raced outside New Zealand only once previously and he was ranked 26th in the world.  He progressed impressively through the qualifying rounds but still wasn’t rated for a medal.  The final was run at a blistering pace and in the last 100m Snell came into his own, surging past world record holder Roger Moens of Belgium, crossing the finish line with his eyes closing and not realising at first that he had won.

Minutes later Murray Halberg ran the 5000 m.  Halberg already had a reputation as a world-class mile runner.  With 3 laps to go he burst ahead of the field and hung on until the finish, winning in 13 minutes 43.4 seconds and collapsing after crossing the line.  His run was later described as ‘probably the most courageous run in Olympic history’.

It was a great day for these two men and their legendary coach Arthur Lydiard, but a much greater day for kiwi sport.