National Day of Action: 12,000 say no to VSU (Student Leader / Australia)

An estimated 12,000 university students turned out for the National Day of Action on 28 April to deliver their answer to the government’s voluntary student unionism (VSU) proposal: a clear no.

VSU would make payment of upfront non-academic fees voluntary at all Australian universities and membership of student unions and guilds voluntary. Fee levels range between $100 and $600 a year depending on the university. The reform is expected to cut membership rates by as much as 90 per cent, and make many on-campus services unviable.

Some 3500 anti-VSU protesters gathered in Melbourne, 1200 in Brisbane and hundreds in other capitals and regional centres. <snip>

Lenda Oshalem, a first-year student at the University of Technology, Sydney, told the Student Leader that “VSU will go through, but the government needs to know that VSU is not what students want. <snip>

http://www.leader.org.au/national/content/12000_say_no_to_vsu/