Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Exactly, the Chocolate Appreciation Society. The only reason they existed was to tap into the compulsory student union fee and rip out as much as they possibly could. One of the worst features of compulsory student unionism is that it is like a poll tax: every single student has to pay an equal amount, irrespective of their capacity to pay. The poorest student will pay exactly the same student union fee as the richest student. That is the Labor Party and the Greens view of social justice when it comes to coming to campus.

I remember that, when the coalition first promoted the idea of voluntary student unionism, the Australian Vice-Chancellors Association came before a Senate committee. We were told about all the important things that compulsory student unionism did—in fact, some of the matters raised by Senator Xenophon—it prepared them for leadership, it made them better citizens and so the vice-chancellors' representative waxed lyrical. My colleagues were kind enough to let me ask the first few questions. I asked the representative: if all these matters are so vitally important, could he advise the committee whether to get a university degree it was compulsory to play sport? Answer: no. Was it compulsory to join a society? Answer: no. Was it compulsory to vote at student union elections? Answer: no. Was it compulsory to read the student newspaper? Answer: no. Was it compulsory to go to the student dances, to the uni bar or to the refectory? No, no, no. So, in the end, I asked the vice-chancellors' representative: what is the only thing that you therefore require of a student to get their degree if you do not require them to partake in all these things that you said were so vitally important to a student's education? Do you know that the only thing that was required was the payment of the fee? All the rest is window dressing. The students of Australia know that. They know the bunkum of this.

Government senators interjecting—

They know the bunkum of this because they have decided, by their own choice, not to join in these circumstances where they do not believe they are getting value for money. One place where they are getting value for money, as Senator Mason would know, is at the University of Queensland. The University of Queensland union is one of the few student unions willing to say to the student public: 'We are so confident in that which we provide to our students, that they will join.' What is more, they have proven that they can exist without a compulsory fee and they do so exceptionally well. Why is it that some universities can and some universities cannot? The reason is the product that they provide to the students. That of course is the very big difference.

Government senators interjecting—