News

The Voluntary Student Membership bill, or VSM as it’s colloquially known, completed the Committee of the House stage through Parliament last Wednesday September 7. No amendments to the Bill were accepted, including amendments by Labour MPs to add more clauses to the Bill.
In a last minute bid to shut down the Bill, Te Mana Akonga (the national Maori Students’ Association) formally lodged a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal seeking an urgent Tribunal hearing into the impact of the bill on Maori students. Te Mana Akonga says that the Bill will diminish the right of Maori students to form roopu, achieve adequate representation and ensure fair policies. A motion to refer the claim to the Waitangi Tribunal was dismissed by Parliament. NZUSA Co-President David Do said that Maori students were in a much more vulnerable position than other students and could be “disproportionately effected”.
OUSA Executive members said that the recent developments were “very bad”.
Do was disappointed with the result, and said it was quite clear that National doesn’t care what students think. “Going against advice, evidence and the weight of public opinion, one has to ask - has National sold students down the river to save a failing fringe political party from disintegration?"
The next scheduled Members’ Sitting Day is Wednesday September 28, at which a maximum of 12 ten minute speeches will take place before the final vote on the Bill takes place. A spokesperson for Parliament stated that off the top of his head, he couldn’t think of any Bills that hadn’t passed at the third reading.