Simon Cunich, Sydney
A blow was dealt to PM John Howard's "voluntary student unionism" (VSU) law on August 14 when the Sydney University senate voted to provide $1.1 million in 2007 to the Student Representative Council (SRC) and $630,000 to the Sydney University Post-Graduate Representative Association (SUPRA). These funds will cover the bulk of the revenue lost with the abolition of universal membership fees under the VSU law.
The decision is a response to student rallies against VSU and demands for the university guarantee funding. However, the funding decision does not represent a commitment by the university to support all the activities of the SRC and SUPRA.
Funding for the publication of the student newspaper Honi Soit will come under the control of the university administration and $94,000 will be lost from the "representation" budget. The funding decision also contains "key performance indicators" that will give the university a say in how the student organisations operate and allocate funds.
Sydney University student and Resistance member Alice Dixon told Green Left Weekly: "It is an important setback to the 'user-pays' system that services such as legal support and support for academic appeals will continue to be provided by the SRC. But the political independence of the SRC is far less clear in the funding agreement.
"The extent to which this becomes a real defeat for the Howard government's attempt to weaken student organisations will depend on the ability and willingness of student organisations to continue to fight cutbacks to higher education, campaign against course cuts on campus, and take a stand on broader issues such as war and racism."
Sydney University vice-chancellor Gavin Brown was quoted by the August 14 Australian as saying: "We are determined that students at the University of Sydney have the opportunity to experience the full range of student activities, as long as they are compatible with responsible financial management and good governance."
It is unlikely a campaign run by the SRC against the university's increase in HECS fees (made possible by the government's higher education reforms) will be seen as "good governance" by Brown. Nor is it likely that SRC financial support for the National Tertiary Education Union's campaign to stop the university forcing staff onto individual contracts will be seen as "responsible" management.
Dixon told GLW: "While the funding agreement at Sydney University represents one of the best such agreements secured by a student organisation in the country the struggle to maintain ongoing political independence remains. This will not be guaranteed by the clauses in a funding document but by the level of political activity amongst students.
"The recent on-campus demonstrations of student opposition to Israel's wars on Lebanon and Palestine give an indication of the student voice that will not be silenced."
Under the impact of VSU, student organisations around the country are having to downscale operations. National Union of Students NSW education officer Feiyi Zhang told GLW: "Many student organisations are being forced to cut staff. While most will receive some level of funding from universities the terms of the agreement have depended on the strength of the anti-VSU campaign on the campus. The failure of the NUS national leadership to run a campaign against VSU at the beginning of this year has meant that many student organisations haven't been able to build campaigns to secure full funding."
A national day of action to defend student organisations on August 23 will be an opportunity to demonstrate the ongoing commitment of the student movement to defending student rights, public education and funding for student organisations.