FREEDOM OF CHOICE – VICTORY FOR TERTIARY STUDENTS

17-August-2009

“Labor will not be allowed to slug tertiary students with a $250 student tax after commonsense prevailed and the Senate today voted down the Rudd Government’s Student Fees and Amenities Bill”, Sophie Mirabella, Shadow Minister for Youth said today.

“At a time then the cost of living is escalating and job security is increasingly threatened, students don’t need another tax bill to worry about.  Freedom of choice and respect for the ability of students to decide how to spend their money have been preserved.

The Minister, a former student politician herself, should be embarrassed at the rejection of a bill that was a de facto lifeline for compulsory student unionism.  Her assurance that the legislation would prohibit money being spent for political purposes was at best ignorant about the full implications of the bill, or at worst, deceitful.

Let’s not forget that this bill broke a Labor Party election promise not to introduce a “compulsory amenities fee,” Mrs Mirabella said.

It was a desperate attempt to breathe life back into organisations and services that did not respond to the needs and demands of students.

“This Bill removed choice from students about what services and political parties they wanted their money to fund,” Mrs Mirabella said.

The Senate’s rejection today ensures that students will not be forced to pay a tax of $250 and forced to pay for services and amenities that they do not want and - in the case of over 130,000 external students – may never have the opportunity to use. Many university students chose to be part of sporting clubs, associations, and community activities that are based off campus for which they pay a fee – why should they subsidise the social and political activities of those on campus?

“The defeat of this Bill is a victory for commonsense and a great relief to thousands of students and their families across the country. As Shadow Minister for Youth, I thank those Senators who had the courage to stand up against a new student tax,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.