The Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/news/9903/08/text/national12.html Student union plan 'disaster' Date: 08/03/99 By GEESCHE JACOBSEN, Higher Education Writer Regional centres would lose sporting and entertainment facilities for the entire community under the Federal Government's plan to abolish compulsory membership in university student associations, according to a new survey. The chairman of the Country Mayors' Association, Mr Richard Torbay, said the move would have disastrous effects on regional communities, which had already lost government services, post offices and banks. Campus organisations fear that the Government plan for voluntary student unionism would threaten the survival of many student associations which run services for students and the local rural communities. The survey of student unions on 19 regional campuses found that 82 per cent provided facilities which were also used by the local community. Conducted by the Australian Campus Union Managers' Association (ACUMA), the survey found regional student unions provided about 1,000 jobs and contributed about $100 million to regional economies. Mr Andrew O'Brien, the president of the association, which represents campus service providers, said people incountry Australia were suspicious of claims by the Minister for Education, Dr Kemp, that the market should decide what services would stay or go. "They have already seen what this really means: closures and relocations of essential local community services, such as banks, jobs centres and Medicare offices," he said. In Armidale, the University of New England student union built and operates the town's cinemas - after the community had been without a movie theatre for 11 years. The union also runs a 50-room hotel and pub in the town. In Lismore, Southern Cross University student union has contributed a third of the construction cost for a major aquatic centre after the private sector expressed no interest. The student union at the new Thurgoona campus of Charles Sturt University, outside Albury, has put on hold plans to build a $1.5 million student centre. The facility was to provide catering facilities, a gym, an entertainment area and meeting rooms for the 5,000 students expected to study at the campus in the future. The building was to be financed from student membership fees. Mr Torbay said universities were the major "industries" in many country towns. Many Coalition MPs had yet to understand the impact of the plan on regional communities. He said many were driven by an anti-union ideology. This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
