Dialogue: Student unions run like any democracy

DAREL HALL* says there is no basis to claims that changes to the student association membership law are an abuse of basic freedoms.


Every New Zealand student has the freedom to conscientiously object to membership of compulsory students' associations, where they exist, under the amended Education Act.

It is not a particularly onerous task.

It leaves one wondering how Clint Heine, in a recent Dialogue article, could seriously suggest this is counter to the freedoms New Zealand sought to protect in the Second World War, and how he can contend that the Bill of Rights has been trampled upon.

The architect of the Bill of Rights, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, has given a long legal opinion that argues that compulsory students' associations are entirely consistent with the bill.

It is also worth noting that the University of Canterbury Students' Association was made compulsory in 1928 and remains so today.

The servicemen and women of the Second World War, who took over the running of the association for a number of years, saw no apparent contradiction in their action.

When this issue has been raised with Amnesty International, its response suggests that it has one or two more pressing matters to devote time to than this non-injustice.

Mr Heine's main argument seems to be a libertarian point of view that individual wishes are more important than what the group votes for, and a dislike of students' associations for their political role. He believes the minority dominates when people are compelled to engage in some action when an absolute majority of those affected did not vote for the specified action.

If that is the test, how many of the organs of our representative democracy would fail?

I can't remember a national political party that received that level of support, and I doubt very many mayors, councillors and regional councillors would pass the hurdle Mr Heine sets.

A comparison with United States presidential elections shows that a good turnout is when more than 50 per cent of the people vote.

In congressional elections in years when there is not a presidential vote, the turnout dips to about 35 per cent.

So no American President will achieve the Heine hurdle.

While it is important that people vote, only countries like the Soviet Union made a virtue of the process of voter turnout above the outcome of approximate representation of the views of their society.

So, given free and open elections, should not the outcome of that vote be respected?

Mr Heine further suggests that 100 or so votes could determine the organisational form of a students' association in an institution of 15,000 students.

However, the large tertiary institutions had turnouts of around 40 per cent at last year's vote - better than many local body elections in New Zealand and certainly approximate to American elections.

The second problem Mr Heine sees with students' associations are that they are "left-wing." Yet given elections are free and by secret ballot, who is anyone to criticise the electors?

The Business Roundtable made the mistake of accusing the Christchurch City Council of being left-wing.

It forgot that the council was popularly elected, so many Christchurch citizens revelled in the label of the Peoples Republic of Christchurch. People from Christchurch got what they voted for and didn't particularly care for the sour grapes of a sector group that didn't like it.

The second response is, are they really left-wing? "Right-wing" students have done quite well getting elected at all students' associations, including Mr Heine's Otago.

Students, whether labelled or not by others for the labeller's own political purposes, are generally and genuinely concerned with student loans, fees and allowances, quality of education, and other education issues.

Discounting the extremities of thought, there is a general fear of high loan debt, an antipathy to high fees, and a concern that access to higher education should not be the prerogative of the rich.

The case of the University of Canterbury Students' Association illustrates how pragmatic, practical solutions emerge even when ideologues attempt to manufacture an outcome.

Last year, the association moved to a zero fee, but replaced much of that income with a service agreement with the university to provide services to students.

The university realised the association had expertise in delivering services; was extremely cost-efficient because of experience, lower overheads and large pools of voluntary labour; and would have to provide the services anyway to all students.

In addition, the association made membership a right of all students that could, in turn, be waived.

Only one person bothered.

* Darel Hall was president of the University of Canterbury Students' Association in 1998-99.