Media release from New Zealand Union of Students' Associations

Opposition to an Act Party Bill that aims to end universal membership of students' associations continues to mount as students around the country resume classes for the second half of the year.

The president of the Otago University Students' Association, Logan Edgar, will be protesting against the Bill by locking himself in a 'Presidential Prison' from 7pm Monday 18 July to 1pm Wednesday 20 July at the Otago University campus.

"The cage represents what could happen to students if the Bill is passed. Students would be locked out of the student services, campus life, and independent representation and advocacy that associations currently provide," said David Do, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA).

Students' associations exist to represent the views and serve the interests of students at tertiary institutions. They also provide a wide range of services and activities for those students. These primary functions are designed to improve and enhance the quality of education and the educational experience of tertiary education.

"Students' experiences on campus will be seriously diminished if this Bill passes, and their education will be less well-rounded and of lower quality. They will be deprived of many of the opportunities, experiences, and protections that generations of students had before them under collective membership," said Do.

A 2010 independent economic analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers on the value of services provided by students' associations and the potential impact of voluntary membership, as promoted by the Bill, found that service levels would fall by at least 48% and as much as 73%.

"This destructive Bill is not supported by students or the public, and yet National continues to reward Act by continuing to support this poor legislation. Almost 5000 submissions were made to Select Committee on  the Bill last year and 98% were opposed, and an independent public opinion poll in November last year showed 77% of respondents felt students should decide the  structure of membership of their associations, compared with just 17% that believed it should be the Government's decision," added Do.

"This Bill is an ideological solution in search of a problem. National needs to see sense and not lock students out of future opportunities," concluded Do.

NZUSA is the national representative body for tertiary students and has been advocating on student issues since 1929.

A webcam monitoring Logan 24 hours a day will be streamed on www.demandabetterfuture.org.nz from tonight.