NTEU to give evidence to Senate VSU Inquiry
6 May 1999
The National Tertiary Education Union will give evidence about the fundamental and intrinsic value of student organisations to Australian universities at tomorrow’s Senate inquiry into the proposed VSU legislation. The NTEU will also outline the threat which this legislation poses to the jobs of its members employed in student organisations.
\"The Senate needs to recognise that student organisations have contributed greatly to the vibrancy and sense of community within our universities for over a hundred years\", Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President said. \"Student organisations are so much more than service providers, they create an environment which is conducive to open inquiry and debate and add value to the learning experience.\"
\"The NTEU is extremely concerned at the threat posed by this legislation to the experience of campus life. The role which student organisations play in providing advocacy on behalf of students and in welfare support to students- likely to be those students who are most vulnerable to drop out- is invaluable to our universities. Unfortunately it is these activities which are most likely to be lost in a fee for service system.\"
\"The majority of NTEU members employed in student organisations work in representative bodies and the majority of these are employed as welfare or student rights officers and in providing policy and research support to students. The experience in Western Australia demonstrates that these are the jobs which are most likely to be lost.\"
The NTEU will give evidence to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Higher Education Legislation Amendment Bill 1999: