Federal Government
TAX AXED: Senator Steve Fielding saves the day by stopping unfair $250 student tax
The big-spending Rudd government’s immovable refusal to allocate sufficient funds to Universities to fund “student services” and student unions might have run into an irresistible force: Senator Steve Fielding.
The leader of Family First in the Senate spoke yesterday on the government’s plan to levy a $250 a year tax on university students to finance student services and made it clear he strongly opposed it. His vote will be important as it now appears there will be a tied vote on the legislation meaning that it will be lost.
Voluntary student unionism has long been a campaigning issue for Liberal students at Universities, but many of them missed the point that Senator Fielding made well. The campus Liberals would focus on the admittedly important issue of freedom of association and the fact that in the bad old days students were coerced into “joining” student unions. An important principle, to be sure. But hardly the issue that was going to excite the imagination of the average Uni student.
Fielding has zeroed in on the crucial issue, the federal Labor government is proposing a new tax, a flat poll-tax on every student, regardless of their capacity to pay, at a time in their lives when money is at its tightest.
We’d take it a step further. Student services and student unions are important and ought to be funded by the Commonwealth just as they fund teaching and everything else from Vice-Chancellorial limousines down, with the accountabilities normally associated with the expenditure of public monies. The fact that student organisations – through their peak body the Australian National Union of Students – have refused to campaign for public funding of their important public role might at first seem puzzling. Surely they wouldn’t want their members to be slugged a $250 a year tax? What kind of lobby group dares campaign for such a thing?
The kind of lobby group that wants a legal framework to extract money from relatively powerless student “members” without having to be accountable to a government department, a parliamentary committee or more generally the public for how they spend it. And it’s that shameful truth that in our opinion leaves most Australian student organisations, with UQ being the honourable exception, utterly discredited on this issue. Their clout in government, through Labor moderate minister Kate Ellis and lefty Julia Gillard, both former student union officials is considerable. Perhaps it’s time they started to use it to ensure that the Commonwealth government funds the university student services and student unions they have argued are so vital.
Senator Fielding’s remarks are a great credit to him and we repeat them here in full:
The compulsory student services fee is a tax on the poor—nothing more, nothing less. It is a tax on university students. It is a tax on those who can least afford it. Students are doing it very, very tough. If the Rudd government realised how tough they are doing it, they would not be slapping a tax on students, a compulsory fee on university students. We
have to be clear that it is nothing more than a tax on them.
I will make a statement that I have made a couple of times before. The National Party’s position is absolutely ridiculous. It is a halfway house. They are half pregnant, saying, ‘Look, gee, we don’t like a $250 compulsory fee, but we’ll have a little less for sports.’ I play sport, I love sport and most Australians love sport, but how can you argue the principle that it is okay to slug the students with a compulsory fee for sports only? What about those people who are not interested in sports? It undermines the whole argument. It is a ridiculous position. It is half pregnant—a halfway house. It is crazy.
No wonder the chamber is going to reject this compulsory student fee, because it is nothing but a tax on the poor. It would be used for services that people may not even use—some will never use them. Students are struggling to make ends meet and we should not be putting an extra financial burden on them at all. It is strange that we are again talking about a tax on students.
Frankly, that is what it is. I know the two major parties will argue back and forth on history and political grounds. Putting that aside is not the issue. Should students be compulsorily required to pay a fee that is nothing more than a tax? I say no and I think Australia generally would say no. It should not be supported and I think today we will find it will not be supported.
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21 comments for “TAX AXED: Senator Steve Fielding saves the day by stopping unfair $250 student tax”
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http://www.stopstudenttaxes.com
“It is a tax on those who can least afford it. Students are doing it very, very tough.” – Sen. SF.
It was intended to go on HECS. Students wouldn’t see the $250, by definition, until they were no longer doing it tough.
Many students are currently leaving university with more than $30000 in debt for their undergraduate studies
The thought of saddling them with even more debt, undoubtedly to fund NUS pissups, ineffective campaigns and union incompetence, is a joke
I love that we campaign against an increase in HECS debt, but wanted this to go through. If only i could win an election.
Im so vapid.
*collective sigh of relief*
I do not support this move by Mr Fielding.
In my student days, I campaigned long and hard against VSU.
I will continue that fight.
If any young ladies require a ‘lift’ back to their residential abode, after the conclusion of today’s studies I am more than to oblige and I willing offer my ’services’.
WOOOOHOOOO! That’s $250 that stays with me instead of going to the leftist rent-seekers and their campaings for marxism.
A victory for the punters.
$250 better spent on the pokies, ciggies and VB than on subsidising tofu rolls and shakra readings for one legged lesbians.
Why doesn’t Labor support public subsidy of these public services like childcare, sports and rec and student newspapers?
Vexnews has exposed who is lying and why. Well done
I could buy a lot of Wicked Wings with that $250.
Let me get this straight, Senator Fielding, VexNews (and the Liberals?) oppose a amenities levy of university students (whose degrees- and consequnetial debt- go into the thousands of dollars) and instead advocate that this cost be borne instead by the Government. Wow, who would’ve thought the day would come when VexNews is advocating socialism?
Atleast freedom prevailed. Senator Fielding did a good job bucketing the national party on the way through as well, so he maybe still useful after all.
Correct Tim, Fielding has finally come good after a pretty average performance of late.
Hard to dissagree with his arguments against the Nats position.
Good point Toby, $250 does get you a lot of wicked wings. Might get some now to celebrate.
Back on to CSU is an evil poll tax that robs students of their scarce dough. As a mature age student who’s been at uni for yonks you really start feeling the pinch when you have to fork out money to the union year on year on year.
Not to worry though I saved heaps of cash earlier this year by holding my wedding reception in a church hall and by making ppl bring their own grog and food. Haha… Suckers.
Yours in libertarianism,
Scotty Farlow.
Students across this great nation should hoist a schooner to that great political mind Alan Griffith.
Let us not forget it was because of Griffo’s far sighted vision that we have Steve Fielding in the Senate.
There have been those amongst the faithful who have questioned the wisdom of Griffo.
But even the most unchartiable must now bow in his direction.
Let freedom reign! Stop the $250 tax!
Sure if you ask me if I support VSU I’ll say yes, but underneath I still haven’t changed from being a left wing grouper who hates VSU.
Anyway there’s more important issues like doing deals with Scott Farlow and the new group.
Matt Kean
Vice-President Policy NSW Young Liberals
New and Old Group Faction Presidential Candidate
Wait to the next election – Mr ‘Softcock’ Fielding will go the same way as the stools I just flushed.
Hey Matt,
How are those stacks coming along? Naturally, because I’m fat and have no friends I’m depending on guys like you to come up with the numbers.
Oh and with Drummoyne, have you got the numbers to get me in? I’m currently unemployed and it’s only fair that I be rewarded for all my hard work on Victoria Rd.
C u on the cruise mate (our mate Alex’ll be there too).
Yours in libertarianism,
Scotty Farlow.
Oh here they come again the old fake Farlow posts giving us the same old tripe ie: “I’m fat, I’m a loser, I’m unemployed”. Stop spreading lies about him you gutless nazis.
We won Sulc fair and square, yet still Josh and Chad the sore losers they are having an anonymous hissy fit on vexnews. Grow up you nazi wankers, money, stacking, backroom deals and lies will not win you anything. Competence will and that is what we on the mainstream have in abundance.
See you on Friday night lads, unless your “discussing religion” with Fred Nile or something.