The recent attacks on higher education, including the threat to increase HECS and introduce more up-front fees, have provoked huge mobilisations by students and the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union around the country. 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's SARAH PEART asked NSW state president of National Union of Students (NUS) JOHN NOLAND-NEYLAN about plans for budget actions and the discussions at the NSW NUS conference on June 23-24.
Question: The August federal budget is expected to bring in some of the biggest cuts to education funding in decades. What are NSW NUS's plans for the education campaign?
NUS is organising a two week road-show where we'll be visiting all the regional centres and universities and contacting local welfare groups, community groups, ethnic groups and encouraging them to come along and hear about how inequities in higher education will impact on their community and family in particular.
We also have planned a national day of action on the August 7 in which academics, general staff and students will take to the streets. We hope to have on-campus forums before the budget which will look at the likely attacks and their impact on students, for example, HECS increases.
Question: How does the non-aligned left faction plan to try to democratise the NUS?
NUS is in the process of restructuring which gives us a number of opportunities to open up the union to direct student input. We have organised forums on campus where people can help put together an options paper to give students an idea of what the current structure of the union is and some alternative models. This can help clarify what people like and don't like. We will also be issuing questionnaires to see how well people think the union is working and putting articles in student newspapers to promote debate.
Question: In the debate about the NUS structure, some argue that the financial structures of NUS could be separated from the question of democracy. What do you think?
You cannot separate the two. The resource question is linked to the long-term structure of the union. If the long-term structure is to be inclusive, you have to set up structures, such as committees and forums, to do that. That has financial implications. Decisions to save money by cutting this or that position are political ones.
Question: There was not a quorum — the minimum number of delegates needed to make decisions — at the conference. Why was this?
There was a very poor turn out from both of the Labor factions, Unity and the National Organisation of Labor Students (NOLS). This was very disappointing because the conference not only costs the union money but it provides delegates' input into the union. The NSW branch conferences are the most powerful in terms of setting the direction of NUS and they also involve the most number of students.
There were motions passed condemning both NOLS and Unity for their lack of commitment to the conference. While they claim to play a role in the union they should at least be turning up to these conferences.
Question: What role should cross-campus networks and on-campus education groups play in the campaign?
The on-campus education groups are the cornerstone of any campaign. Campuses that have strong education action groups have strong turn-outs at rallies. The campus population is well informed about the issues and understands the importance of expressing that publicly.
Those groups should feed into the Cross Campus Education Network and make sure the CCEN truly represents large numbers of students from each campus when it sets the agenda for the campaign. At the moment the CCEN doesn't necessarily have the connections to the grass-roots on each campus that it needs to get the movement moving quickly.
Question: How do you see the relationship between NUS, the NTEU and vice-chancellors?
There is a long history of academics and students working together and a lot of common ground on which to do this. For example, overcrowded classes mean students are forced to sit on the floor and lecturers have too much marking.
With the vice-chancellors, there isn't that common ground. In the past there has been significant conflict between the way VCs have chosen to administer universities and the way students think they should be run. We should, however, try to build strategic fronts with the VCs around specific issues. Clearly the VCs do not support our demand of "No increases in HECS" whereas the academics do.
Question: Is NUS (NSW) going to highlight other aspects of the budget which affect students, such as the attacks on public sector jobs, and on TAFE students and apprentices? Will NUS be supporting the ACTU national day of action on August 19?
NUS has a responsibility to defend students, both in their short-term and long-term life. This means we have a responsibility to protest against industrial relations reform that would see students, when they leave university, open to exploitation. We have to defend students in other areas, especially TAFE students who could be exploited under a sort of re-vamped youth wage if the government goes ahead with its proposals. We will work with the ACTU and unions to try and stop these regressive changes in broader social issues. And we will certainly be having a presence at the ACTU national day of action on August 19.