Minister visits campus to hear about VSU impact

March 04, 2008

The Federal Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, visited the University of New England today as part of a fact-finding mission to gauge the impact of voluntary student unionism (VSU) on universities and their communities.

She heard the views of students, managers (including the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew), and sporting and community groups, and told them that the Government was committed to ensuring that Australian universities remained "world-class institutions with vibrant campuses".

During her 10-day, Australia-wide tour, Ms Ellis (pictured here) will be meeting representatives of virtually every Australian university and their related communities. Representatives of Southern Cross University and the University of Southern Queensland also attended today's meetings at UNE.

Since the introduction of VSU in July 2006 and the consequent loss of revenue from compulsory union fees, the University itself has provided more than $700,000 a year to help maintain student services and sporting facilities. UNE has been successful in attracting $6.2 million in Federal Government "VSU Transition" funding – mainly for the building and maintenance of sporting facilities. The Minister's tour is aimed at helping the Government look beyond the life of the Transition Fund to the long-term prosperity of universities.

Arriving in Armidale this morning, the Minister said her national tour had been planned to ensure that she had "opportunities to hear regional voices". She said she was aware, from submissions received by the Government, of the importance of some of the University's facilities – including Sport UNE and the Belgrave Cinema – to the wider New England community. After her meetings with students and staff, she said that UNE had, indeed, provided her with "a different perspective – particularly in the way the University interacts with the community".

She confirmed that the Government had "ruled out the return of compulsory student unionism", but that it was committed to "finding a way forward" that would ensure the provision of adequate student services, and the maintenance of the social and cultural environments that universities needed to produce "well-rounded graduates".

The Vice-Chancellor said that having the Minister on campus at UNE for the day was "a great opportunity not only to hear about the Government's ideas but also to highlight the distinctive nature of the University of New England and the importance we place on providing the best possible services to our students and the broader Armidale community".

From Armidale, the Minister's tour takes her to Brisbane, Townsville and Darwin, and she is due back in Canberra on Wednesday 12 March. She will then be reading and analysing written responses to a discussion paper on the impact of VSU that is available on the Internet at www.dest.gov.au/vsu. The closing date for these responses is Tuesday 11 March. "I'll be sifting through what I hope will be lots and lots of submissions," she said.

THE PHOTOGRAPH of the Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, displayed here expands to include UNE student representatives (from left) Emily Hill, Beau Picking, Justin Arnold and Ben Graham.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at March 4, 2008 05:54 PM