The bill promoting VSM ( voluntary student association membership) is currently before a parliamentary select committee; submissions to the select committee are due at the end of the month. Although there has been a bit of mud slinging and website creating (for example Free Me and Save our Services ) on both sides of the debate, I expect things to hinge around whether current provisions of the Education Act infringe the right not to be forced to join an association and, if they do, whether that infringement is justified in a free and democratic society.

Yet, if Parliament decides that compulsory student membership relates to concerns which are pressing and substantial, is rationally connected to its intended purpose and is a proportional response to those concerns or is the least possible impairment of rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, this would mean that compulsory student membership does not breach section 5 of the Bill of Rights; this position is supported by case law.

Consequently as this will satisfy the demonstrable justification under section 5, in that any limitation of a right or freedom is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society, this means that services and representation are substantial enough for compulsory membership of students’ associations to be retained in law, with a democratic mechanism should students in a given tertiary institution decide otherwise.

Meaning this bill is not needed to fix up rights under the Bill of Rights. e All this bil ldoes is satisfies ACT ideology. And most students didn’t vote for ACT.

As a side issue, one raised concern in the current legislation is that any conscientious objections ( where students can object to student association membership) is that their membership fee is not refunded as it is paid to a charity. This appears to be designed to limit applications for exemptions. In addition, the current bill has no provision for referenda, as it individualises collective representation.

There is no way a student could access the services and representation provided by EXMSS for a $40 annual cost ( which is what Massey extramural students pay) if they were forced to look elsewhere.

What do you think?