Fed: Joyce wants amendment to student unionism bill

AAP General News (Australia)
04-10-2005
Fed: Joyce wants amendment to student unionism bill

CANBERRA, April 10 AAP - Nationals senator-elect Barnaby Joyce says he plans to introduce
an amendment to the government's proposal to scrap compulsory student unionism, to force
students to pay a fee to support sport.

He says university students, not taxpayers, should foot the bill for maintaining university
sporting clubs and facilities.

A substantial portion of student fees are given to university sports clubs to reduce
costs to student sportsmen and sportswomen.

It has been predicted that the government's bill will deprive university sports programs
around Australia of $100 million putting many clubs at risk of collapse.

Mr Joyce said he was adamantly opposed to compulsory student unionism at universities.

But he said when it was scrapped it would have an effect on uni sporting facilities.

"We will be suggesting amendment in such form that sporting facilities are covered
by a fee or some form of structure," he told ABC TV.

"The essence of this legislation, and this primarily very good legislation, is to get
rid of compulsory student unionism and the militant aspects that it represents, and no
one's got an argument with that.

"But the job of the Senate is look at legislation and say when this legislation hits
the ground it's going to have an effect ... on the sporting facilities, especially regional
universities."

But Mr Joyce said he would not vote against the government's current bill.

"But what I would make (is) this commitment that, if in regional universities, we find
that all the sporting infrastructure starts to fall to pieces, then that must be picked
up by the public purse," he said.

"And instead of having sporting infrastructure supported by the students it's going
to be supported by every taxpayer, and I think that's highly unfair."

AAP sm/cat/sd

KEYWORD: STUDENTS

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.