Southern Cross Uni – saving student services

Speech given by CPSU/PSA Organiser, Stephen Senise, at rally in support of student union services and opposition to the federal government's proposal to make student unionism voluntary, a move which will severely rupture services.

Across Australia today, and here in Lismore, the trade union movement stands together with students and with student unions. The CPSU in particular pays tribute to its members: the hardworking and conscientious staff employed in running the services and facilities of the student union at Southern Cross University, the staff of Campus Central.

The CPSU also commends those individual members of the federal National Party who have had the courage to voice their grave concerns about the impact of the proposed VSU legislation on regional universities. Unfortunately our own member, Ian Causley, the member for Page, is not among this group. Shame on him !

Ian Causley has a dilemma: he doesn't know whether he's in Canberra representing the interests of Lismore, or in Lismore representing Canberra. The CPSU would like to suggest to Ian Causley a novel approach: stand by your constituents. The CPSU calls on Ian Causly to campaign on behalf of Lismore, rather than merely using Southern Cross University as a backdrop for his commercials during election campaigns - as he did at the last election.

Let's imagine a project or development which merely promised to bring over 2.5 million dollars and 150 jobs a year into the local economy, as the student union actually does for Lismore. It'd be nice to think that Ian Causley would be out there bending over backwards to see that the project got up and running. Instead, on this occasion, he's willing to vote for a bill that will gut jobs and cash-flows that are already there.

And why ? Because this government cannot abide by the historic right of students to openly campaign against government education policy. Because now is pay-back time, and this government knows how to bear a grudge, come what may. The right of student unions to campaign against government policy, irrespective of the government's political colour is not only an historical reality, its called democracy.

And Ian Causley will do well to consider that little thing called democracy as he prepares to go to Canberra to vote on this bill. Because while he will get to vote in Canberra, we are even more privileged: we get to vote right here in Lismore, in a little old seat called Page.