There is right now a bill at Parliament to reintroduce a compulsory Student Amenities and Services Fee. However, this is different to previous bills, in that the fee can be deferred in the same way as HECS.
This will mean that, if passed, the 1.3million lost annually from support services will be returned, and will result at ECU in full time education & welfare support, bookshop grants schemes, volunteering & casual jobs services, and cheaper campus food, student accommodation and services.
Senator Barnaby Joyce thinks that this fee should only go to sport – but what about those who cannot afford the time or money to play sport, because they are living on income support that is 40% below the poverty line, and working full time to support their study?
What about the 1 in 8 students who regularly go without food, or the 1 in 4 indigenous students that do the same?
What about the lack of free legal support and affordable amenities that ECU Students face now?
LOBBY THE GOVERNMENT IN 4 EASY WAYS:
A) PHONING MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Nationals Senate Leader – Barnaby JoyceParliament Contact
Phone: (02) 6277 3244
Fax: (02) 6277 3246Independent Senator – Nick Xenophon
Parliament Contact
Phone: (02) 6277 3552
Fax: (02) 6277 5834Family First Senator – Steve Fielding
Parliament Contact:
Phone: (02) 6277 3711
Fax: (02) 6277 5713
B) EMAILING MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Nationals Senate Leader – Barnaby Joyce
Via Contact Form
Via Direct Email
E: senator.joyce@aph.gov.au
Independent Senator – Nick XenophonEmail: senator.xenophon@aph.gov.au
Family First Senator – Steve Fielding
Email: senator.fielding@aph.gov.au
C) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Sunday Times: letters@sundaytimes.newsltd.com.au
Original Article
http://www.theage.com.au/national/joyce-to-back-uni-fees-for-sport-only-20090518-bcqx.htmlOriginal Article
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/19/2574977.htm?section=justinSubmit to The Sydney Morning Herald
Original Article:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/unis-call-joyce-a-bad-sport-over-funding-20090518-bcp1.html?page=-1
D) BLOGS & MEDIA
Contribute to Senator Steve Fielding’s Blog:
http://www.stevefielding.com.au/blog/comments/should_we_tax_students/
POINTS TO CONSIDER IN YOUR CALLS OR EMAILS:
Include in your contributions:
• Personal experiences of poverty or lack of support
• Observations about ECU’s lack of culture or community
• What the bill, if passed, could do to bring ECU’s community and support services back
Important Points:
The Bill is not a return to compulsory student unionism.
Section 19-37(1) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the Act), which prohibits a provider from requiring a student to be a member of a student organisation, is unchanged.
Over and above basic services, representation and advocacy rights, the Bill will also provide universities with the option to implement a services fee, capped at a maximum of $250 per year to invest in quality support and advocacy services.
Universities that choose to levy a fee will be expected to consult with students on the nature of the services and amenities and enhanced advocacy that the fee would support.
To ensure that the fee is not a financial barrier, any university introducing the fee must also provide eligible students will the option of taking out a HECS-style loan under a new component of the Higher Education Loan Program – SA-HELP.
ECU – What VSU did
• Stripped 1.3million in annual funding from Student Support Services & Amenities provided by the Student Guild
• Saw the closure of Guild Shops & Food Outlets, which were heavily subsidised for students
• Saw the loss of the Guild’s free legal service to students
• Saw the loss of full time Welfare & Advocacy support to students
• Resulted in heavy increases across campus to food, health, sport and accommodation as a result of the outsourcing of services
• The Guild has to draw heavily on reserves every year to provide its limited services to students today, and can only survive another 3 years unless something changes
What we can do if the bill is passed:
• Subsidise the cost of sport, food, accommodation & other services on campus
• Provide bookshop grants for students living in poverty
• Provide full time welfare and advocacy services for students
• Reintroduce free legal support for students
• Run subsidised food, amenities and stationary services
• Run a jobs, skills & volunteering service
• Provide study spaces, amenities and function areas for students
• Adequately fund the costs of independent representation, advocacy and peer support for students
• Invest in societies, associations and clubs which create campus community and engagement, contributing to the development of people as social and intelligent beings
QUOTES
Kate Ellis, Minister for Youth & Sport:
“Universities have struggled for years to prop up essential student services through cross-subsidisation from other parts of already overstretched university budgets, to redress the damage that resulted from the Coalition Government’s disastrous Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) legislation.”
“In addition the Bill prohibits universities from allowing the expenditure of any funds raised from a compulsory student services and amenities fee to support political parties, or support the election of a person to the Commonwealth, State or Territory legislatures or to a local government body.”
“Consultations revealed last year that the previous Government’s approach to university services stripped close to $170 million out of university funding resulting in the serious decline and in some instances complete closure of vital health, counselling, employment, child care and welfare support services.”
“Australian students have been literally paying the price for this loss, through increased costs on campus and the redirection of funding out of research and teaching budgets to make up the shortfall of funding for campus services”
Australian Olympic Committee:
‘…the introduction of the VSU legislation has had a direct negative impact on the number of students (particularly women) participating in sport and, for the longer term, the maintenance and upgrading of sporting infrastructure and facilities and the retention of world class coaches.’
The Greens Recommendations
The Greens want to amend the bill, recommending in Senate:
• Guarantee that the student levy be directed towards student organizations
• Subject all fees to scrutiny, accountability and transparency
• Allow for effective student advocacy and representation to Universities and various levels of Government, on issues that concern the quality of education and student welfare
• Not supporting any attempt to restrict student media
ECU Students are suffering higher costs and lower support than ever before. This is what we want to do about it.
Reduce the costs of Amenities and Services at ECU
We want ECU to subsidise the cost of food and drink, student accommodation, campus outlets and amenities, with the money they receive if the Compulsory Amenities and Services Fee legislation passes.
Get the Federal Government to Increase Student Income Support, and to make it accessible to ALL those in need
The Government needs to:
· Decrease the age of independence for Youth Allowance
· Increase the Parental Income Threshold
· Increase the permissible work hours for students on Youth Allowance or Austudy
· Increase the level of income support for students on Youth Allowance or Austudy
Get the Federal Government to pass legislation returning adequate funding and control of student amenities and support to Student Organisations
We want the Government to pass legislation allowing Universities to charge compulsory fees for Amenities and Services Provision, giving them the funds to support campus services, support and amenities without the loss of teaching and learning quality we have seen in the past 3 years.
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HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED:
- Sign a Campaign Postcard at the Student Guild or at our Campaign Stalls
- Fill out a survey from ECU Student Guild on your experiences of Student Poverty and Living at ECU, to go into the ECU Student Guild submission on student poverty
- Join the ECU Student Guild Education Collective
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Anne Johnsen, evp@ecuguild.org.au
