SRC sabotages Tas Uni picket
By Mathew Munro
HOBART — Tasmania University students picketed a meeting of the university council on May 23 to protest against university cutbacks. Unfortunately, the ALP-dominated students representative council actively campaigned against the picket using students' money, and even encouraged the administration to call the police.
The picket — to protest against the closure of two libraries and the imposition of a $5500 fee for the final year of law, and to demand that the university administration oppose the government's cuts — was in response to the May 19 announcement of the law course fee.
Resistance member and SRC general representative Kylie Moon put a motion for the picket to be endorsed to that day's SRC meeting. The SRC vehemently opposed the picket and spent the rest of the week distributing a leaflet and poster — "Don't waste your time with Resistance on Friday" — calling on students to avoid the protest.
The SRC leaflet said that the picket was irrelevant because fees and library closures were not on the council meeting's agenda. However, SRC president Catherine Miller has a seat on the council and can raise any issue she wants.
Kylie Moon told Green Left Weekly that Miller "has a responsibility to raise issues of concern to students". To fail to do so, said Moon, and then use this as an argument against student action, "really makes you wonder whether she is representing students or the administration".
A group of students, including Resistance members, formed the Higher Education Action Team (HEAT) to organise the action, funding publicity for the picket from their own pockets. On May 22 Moon received a phone call from the Tasmania Police after the SRC "warned" the administration that 1500 violent protesters would be besieging the council meeting. Due to the SRC's efforts, the action was small.