Second national day of action called

Second national day of action called

By Sean Healy

Student organisations, activist groups and the National Union of Students have called a second national day of action against education cuts and attacks on students. The day is scheduled for May 20.

The first national day of action, on April 1, attracted 20,000 students and staff, clearly demonstrating the opposition of the entire tertiary education sector to the government's restructuring and funding cuts.

The second day will build on that sentiment, as well as presenting a united student response to the government-commissioned West Review. The review maps out plans for the further privatisation of the university sector, including further deregulation of undergraduate fees and a voucher system of funding.

The national day of action will also focus opposition to federal government plans to restrict student unions through "voluntary student unionism" legislation. Federal minister for education David Kemp has revealed that "VSU" is high on his agenda.

Plans are under way for cross-campus demonstrations in Sydney and Brisbane. In Melbourne, plans centre on dispersed campus-by-campus actions. In other centres, the national day of action will also tackle local university issues.

The National Union of Students' Queensland education officer, Zanny Begg, said, "This national day of action will be important in showing the government we're not planning to drop our protests, even in the face of their threats of 'VSU'".

Further actions are being discussed for second semester and for making education an issue in any federal election.

Begg, also a member of the socialist youth organisation Resistance, added, "The Coalition is destroying higher education in this country — we have to make sure that it pays a price for that in continued protest actions and public pressure."

From GLW issue 317