Federal Government
POLL TAXERS: Left continues obscene quest to impose flat-tax on Australian students
The federal Labor government was elected with a mandate to continue the previous government’s policy of banning Universities from charging their students compulsory fees for amenities, services and to fund student unions.
It hasn’t stopped power obsessed student politicians from continuing a bizarre campaign to get their constituents taxed by Universities with a poll-tax imposed regardless of financial capacity. Oddly, these student representatives prefer a system that compulsorily slugs students to a voluntary union fee.
It’s policy not conceptually different from former UK Conservative Margaret Thatcher’s poll-tax which sought to ensure local governments were funded by all residents not just property owners.
There is an obvious solution to the funding of student services and the organisations that provide them, if only people like the National Union of Students boss with the Thatcherite haircut Angus McFarland had the decency to do his job and ask. If student unions provide valuable services that cannot operate without subsidy, the Commonwealth should allocate the extra funds to provide that subsidy.
All the things that are not essential but important like student newspapers and keeping student officials in Cabcharges and interstate conferences and such could also be subsidised by the taxpayer. They pay for worse rorts in Canberra than anything Angus McFarland could dream up.
But McFarland doesn’t want government subsidy because he’d know that student unions would then have at least some degree of accountability for how they spent the money. An accountability very few of them have ever had when they’ve been able to compulsorily sting individual members for the money for organisations where voter turn-out is usually very low.
His creativity seems restricted to inventing new reasons why his members ought be regressively taxed by the Commonwealth government. Today’s latest reason, the global financial crisis means that Universities armed with billions in reserves somehow can’t afford to pay for basic student services because their investments have declined in value. It shows that while he can grow his hair like Maggie, he can’t make an argument like the Iron Lady could.
If McFarland was a real union official saying that employers couldn’t pay for a subsidised caf at a workplace because of the global financial crisis so the solution was a flat-tax on employees that would be the same regardless of salary, he’d be hunted out of Trades Hall, given a good thumping in its notorious car-park and tied naked to one of its concrete pillars for passers-by to spit upon his displeasing form.
Deputy Prime Minister Gillard is in charge of Australian universities. She was once a student politician. But she’s now a politician for all of us. She will be expected to honour the government’s promise not to impose a highly regressive flat-tax on Australian students as the country enters a time of great economic uncertainty where often the first jobs to get cut are the part-time and casual jobs that are crucial to the incomes of many University students.
The fact that the titular head of the Australian student movement is the loudest voice for imposing a new tax on his own members shows just how badly served they are. A decent rent-seeking lobby group works to benefit its members not advocate measures that will cause many of them considerable hardship in order to fulfil an ideologically and power driven agenda.
Discussion
30 comments for “POLL TAXERS: Left continues obscene quest to impose flat-tax on Australian students”
Post a comment
Perhaps if President Angus was to work closer with his Labor Right Officers of the National Union he would understand the reality of the situation and actually get a meeting with former convenor of Student Unity -Minister Ellis.
Why oh why can’t these daddy rich socialists understand that to have a shot at victory for the student movement if they were to sincerely engage with the Patriots that will be running this country!
Shame Labor Left Shame. . . Should have locked out the trots when given the chance by the moderates last year and maybe there faction could have split again and purged the forces of evil that keep the -reasonably intelligent Angus- spouting such ideological cods wallop.
How are moderate student representatives. . .. 33% of National Conference floor at last count suppose to recruit members to the student movement if this is the leadership they get. .
Oh and. . . Kate Laing better start articulating a clear moderate agenda to XW if she plans to get support to replace President Angusta.
Who’s XW?
I though it was VW
or perhaps D.W.
Oh how rallying behind D.W will split the left. . . BRING IT ON!
funding of nus is a fuckin disgrace. none of these young turds should be in charge of students money. all they do is waste it. Ben is a fuckin lightweight as is angus. Get over it, neither ruddy or julia will be funding your fuckin lifestyles!you’re all dead parrots!
Angus is committing electoral fraud!
It’s pathetic that Sydney Uni SRC Pays $150,000 in affiliation fees… as the President of Sydney SRC goes on to become NUS President (as we have seen in the past 10years) this just shows that they are directly funding their future pay packet… i think its disgraceful that the Uni is pretty much directly paying into the pockets of labor hacks.. the SRC got $1.2 million (DIRECTLY FROM THE UNIVERSITY) in funding this year at sydney and paid $150,000 (over 10% of its budget) to the NUS. what a disgrace.
Maybe if SRC’s stood up for their students by using their budgets to direct the money towards student welfare and services, that actually effect students, then wasting money on “NUS” and “national campaigns to fight for our rights”. what a complete joke.
students unions have always been run by ideologically driven tossers who care nothing about the services students really want. from support for castro to support for chavez, they have bravely campaigned for the salvation of the dinosaurs. it’s tradition
XW = Xavier Williams – Student Unity Candidate for Gen Sec
PS. NSW unity is the only group that brings Student Unity any credibility, and I hear they won’t be around this year. Without them this year I think Student Unity will have a great deal of trouble getting anything.
The first comment on this thread was very interesting.
As much as I embrace the sentiment of the post…”Patriots” don’t really write or speak like that.
Terms like ‘moderate’ and ‘right’ were weirdly overused. It all sounded very hackneyed and forced.
And members of Unity rarely refer to themselves with the term “Labor Right” – we are right-wingers and proud, but being ‘Unity’ is a greater honour. Nor do we say “student movement” or “National Union”. As for “engage”…Jesus Christ. All are key examples of Lefty terminology.
Reads like a masquerade to me, or at the very least, someone taking the piss.
I’ve got a fair idea who.
An attention-seeking Leftie from up North, who struggles with basic grammar and the distinction between ‘their’ and ‘there’.
See you at conference.
Also, why is the so-called ‘Patriot in the know’ hacking on Unity?
Get your shit together, mate.
Where’s Zoe Edwards on this issue? She’s such a cutie!
Someone is interested in what I have to say? Oh well, there’s a first time for everything
I’ll need someone else to speak for me at NUS conference after I was disqualified. Lucky my successor is such an effective mouthpiece for me
I was banned too!
Zoe, mmmmm, that mouth, the things she can do with it….
The intellectual lightweights, aka the Monash Socialist Left, would have nothing of interest to say on the issue
On student equity/poverty grounds, VSU is a good thing. There is nothing socialist or progressive about upfront compulsory fees
The only socialist that would support VSU is a socialist who milks off mummy and daddy
They grow up to become champagne socialists
Shotgun anyone?
I congratulate Jon Faine for having a rest and sleep at a brothel in Mongolia. However, I encourage Mr Faine to use the alternative descriptor “Mongolian peasant’s hut” as per my maiden speech.
The Monash Left wouldn’t know the 1st thing about real world hardships. Go out to Brooklyn or Coolaroo and see how their socialist plans go down there. Bunch of spoilt brat wankers.
Im (sic) not an intellectual lightweight! Your (sic) making me look immature and ridiculous!
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
But it’s gonna take money
About twenty five grand of spending money
It’s gonna take lots of students’ money
To do it right child
But it’s gonna take topical cream
A whole lot of topical cream
It’s gonna take patience and cream
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it,
To do it right child
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
And this time I know it’s for real
This burning sensation I feel
I know if I apply the cream to it
Inhibiting its growth, I can do it
I’ve got my fungus set on you
I’ve got my fungus set on you
But it’s gonna take money
About twenty five grand of spending money
It’s gonna take lots of students’ money
To do it right child
But it’s gonna take topical cream
A whole lot of topical cream
It’s gonna take patience and cream
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it,
To do it right child
Fungus set on you
Fungus set on you (repeat)
The students of monash clayton have been blessed. Bad Zoe Edwards is graduating, getting out of our hair finally, and apparently Mathew Hitlerkari has a job in the real world…some say a graduate position with who else but the Department of Justice.
Methinks the DoJ should be informed of his criminal activity, lest their grand stature and name be tarnished by his incompetence and arrogance.
I wanted to run for NUS President but was disqualified for making fun of a colleague’s disability
These comments are puerile, but not defamatory
I am embarrassed by my association with these clowns
You are one of those clown Fowles
Isn’t 26 a little old for Hitlerkari to be having NUS presidency aspirations?
Also, why is the so-called ‘Patriot in the know’ hacking on Unity?
Get your shit together, mate.
Haha, ‘Patriot in the know’ = Latham!
No, no the really* inept one.
Why toy.
Dave Latham -Patriot in the know
Xavier Williams -Actual Patriot