Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens cannot support this amendment either. The idea of collecting a fee compulsorily and just giving it to sporting associations and sporting clubs does not go to the heart of the problems we are seeing in university campuses across the country, whether they be in rural and regional areas or in the city. We know that the introduction of voluntary student unionism has had a devastating effect on student services, advocacy and representation. All you need to do is look at the international student sector. It is in an absolute mess. Why? Because international students have not had the representation that they need, the services they need, access to the information they need and the right to be able to organise themselves and advocate and have a voice. It is not just the sporting associations and the sporting clubs that have suffered under the voluntary student unionism regime that was brought in by the Howard government. It is important for us to be looking more broadly at the need for a holistic, all-round educational experience in university.

I take a lot of the points that Senators Nash, Joyce and Williams raised that going to university is not just about getting a piece of paper after three years, it is not just about sitting in front of a computer screen and hoping you get a pass average, or a high distinction or a credit; it is actually about getting an overall experience and getting some of that hands-on practical experience, whether that be through student media or elsewhere. Many of our top journalists in this country have come through the student media realms in their universities because they have got that hands-on experience. Whether it is debating clubs, film societies, theatre groups—or sporting associations—all of those things add to the overall experience of university life. What all of those different types of clubs do, whether you are involved in one or more of them, is enable students to develop the networks that stay with them for years to come and help them once they leave university in getting into the workforce and making the best of their university experience. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I completely agree that sporting associations need a hand through the student services fee, they are not the only sector of the student community that is in need and we need to be looking at the issue much more broadly.