[ProgSoc] VSU (Was: What should the exec do? (Was: Scrap VSU info from UTS Union))

Bryn Davies curious.jp at gmail.com
Tue Mar 10 12:12:11 EST 2009


Apologies, Andi - I accidently sent the first one of these to you
instead of Progsoc.

On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 2:51 AM, Andrew Halliday
<andrew.halliday at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm not denying this. It's the convenience, it's the cost (how many places
> bulk bill these days? How many places will offer free legal advice?

 See, this just shows that you need to get out of the university more
- these two aren't such good examples. What do you think all the
non-student poor are doing?

 Most of the medical practices in my area (Brunswick) bulk-bill, and I
say `most` because although I can't think of one that doesn't but I'm
sure there's one out there. There's also about 25 regional community
legal services in Melbourne that provide free legal advice and
representation (I work at my local one) as well as the general state
legal aid apparatus (not so good for advice, I concede) and the
specialist legal clinics like the youth clinic.

 I don't think access to free legal advice is a good argument for MSU.

> It's funny. People like you also would have the same thing when it comes to
> public expenditure. And yet when you end up actually needing something, say
> health care, you'll all bitch and bellow and complain about the lack of
> service. You can't have your cake (money in pocket and lack of service) and
> eat it too (have the service, just only when you want it). Actually it's not
> funny. It's sad and tragic that such self centred people exist.

 You're silly. I don't mind paying my taxes for healthcare. That's a
real service, and even in the 20 years of turmoil following on from R
v Panel for Takeovers and Mergers Ex parte Datafin its one that
everyone in Administrative law outside of America has been able to
agree is one that belongs in the public arena. Nothing the union
offers is even remotely comparable.

 I think part of this is a structural issue. You could take away all
the services the University offers and "essential public services"
would still be fulfilled by the state and federal government just like
they are for all non-students. The executive, in all its guises, forms
the "outer shell". The union just cannot lay claim to the same
credibility and value, no more than I could start a neighborhood
society and force people to join it. Also, I'd still be interested to
hear why you think University unions get an exception to the human
rights argument I posted earlier - it is not just hyperbole, it has
been decisive in several european cases as to whether people can be
forced to join trade unions.

 Here are a small handful of examples of Union expenditures that I do
not think are on par with providing healthcare. The list is inclusive:
   Funding for clubs, which almost definitionally exclude most fee
payers from each specific club.
   The "Arts Lab", which still charges union members for use and is
only open on particular days when they feel like running a program
there.
   Hire of "Camping Equipment" for braving the rugged wilds of Melbourne's lawn.
   Chaplaincy (go to church).
   Coin Laundry... I because this has been closed while their behind
schedule renovation of the basement drags on and on and on...
   Medical Equipment, including splash glasses, slides, coverslips,
dissection kits. Why this and not another subject's tools?
   Photocopiers, coin and card. (Already present in each faculty and I
believe all three main campus libraries.)

 If I could baleet one of these using the power of my mind, it would
almost certainly be clubs, and especially my old favourite, the
political clubs. Comparing the fees for union members and non union
members for most of the social and activities clubs that I've run
across shows that either the contribution of the union is not
excessive ($5 differences in fees per semester) or don't make the
distinction at all (Melbourne University Wing Chun club).

 The political societies are a cancer upon the university (attention:
nobody outside of university cares about university politics), a huge
source of the general social ill of issues bundling ("because you
agree that we should save the whales, you're obviously in favour of
global proletarian revolution") and a frequent source of campus angst,
e.g. the blowup we had back in 2006 between the Union of Jewish
Students and the Liberal Club. We are having a bit of a flare up of
this again at the moment with it being difficult to step out of union
house without someone ramming a leaflet down your throat about the
plight of the entirely innocent Gaza faster than you can say
"Hamas-fires-Qassam-rockets-at-civilians". Get to class you filthy
hippies.

> That's why we have accountability, external audits, surveys and of course,
> ELECTIONS.

 Well, all this is no panacea. There was plenty of oversight _after_
the 2003 Union Scandal at Melbourne, but it still happened and pretty
much destroyed the old union. That did more damage than Howard's years
in office ever managed, in my opinion.

 I don't want to come off as a total asshole here (although it might
be unavoidable) but perhaps the reason that UTS campus life is
perceived by some to have declined is that there never was much of a
campus life to begin with? UTS students always seemed to be happy to
self-organise and go and do their own thing together. This is at least
my feeling from my time at UTS and elsewhere.

 Bryn.

-- 
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