Amenities fee: Ellis shapes up for round two

The federal government remains “absolutely committed” to restoring campus services and amenities, according to youth minister Kate Ellis. And while her office won’t reveal how she plans to achieve this, in the wake of last week’s 34-all Senate rejection of her Higher Education Legislation Amendment Bill, she appears likely to bring the legislation back before the Upper House.
 
Student groups have expressed reservations about aspects of the legislation, which would enable universities to collect an annual amenities and services fee of up to $250 per student to finance social, cultural and sporting services on campus – with HECS-style income contingent loans introduced to help students meet the new fee. But universities and students appear to unanimously support passage of the legislation.
 
This appeared possible after the government agreed to adopt Greens amendments, designed to give students greater say on the use of the money, within the Bill’s guidelines. But the Nationals, under their Senate leader Barnaby Joyce, refused to pass it unless use of the money was restricted to sport. And it failed after Family First leader Steve Fielding, deemed an “unpredictable dropkick” by Crikey.com, sided with them because the Bill was “morally flawed” and “a tax on the poor”.
 
The government’s response was to crank up pressure on the Nationals – particularly Joyce, who crossed the floor to oppose the Howard government’s voluntary student unionism legislation. “In 2005 Senator Joyce said he believed universities ‘should have the right to raise a fee to support facilities intrinsically part of a university’,” Ellis said.
 
The government also drew a link to the Nationals’ opposition to the proposed youth allowance changes on the grounds that they’d disadvantage regional students. On those grounds the Nationals should support the student amenities fee, government MPs argued. Ellis said rejection of the Bill would hit students from the bush hardest, preventing regional universities from offering much-needed support services which also created local jobs.
 
“Perhaps I should quote the leader of the Nationals in the senate, who said as recently as November, ‘VSU has been a fiasco for regional universities’,” Ellis told Parliament on Wednesday.
 
“You had your chance to stand up for regional students, and you squibbed it. The National Party once again said one thing in the bush and did another thing when they were here.”
 
On Thursday Ellis seized on comments by Nationals senator John Williams during a radio interview. “This morning Senator Williams attempted to justify his vote against the Bill by claiming the minister had the power to ‘approve additional amenities and services that may be funded with the $250 fee’,” she said.
 
“This is completely wrong. The Bill is very clear that any revenue raised by universities from the fee can only be used to deliver services and amenities outlined in the fee guidelines. These guidelines require the approval of the House of Representatives and the Senate and can only be changed with further agreement by both houses.
 
“Claims by Senator Williams that universities could only charge part time and external students the full fee are also untrue. The Bill allows universities to charge a lower fee for particular students, including part time and external students.
 
“Senator Williams also said ‘the Nationals support in principle a levy being placed on students’. For the benefit of regional students I call on the National Party to start delivering for the regional students and communities they claim to represent.”
 
National Union of Students president David Barrow told Campus Review he didn’t know what the government’s next step would be, but he hoped the legislation would be brought back before the Senate. “We’re asking them to put the Greens amendment through and put the pressure on the Nationals. I think if it’s pushed back into the Senate there’s a chance the Nationals could support it.”
 
Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations president Nigel Palmer said he also hoped the legislation would be brought back. “The vote was close,” he said.
 
“A lot of the arguments against the Bill were based more on rhetoric than facts. We believe that if all senators looked at the facts, they’d see that this legislation doesn’t favour student organisations at all. In fact many student organisations have grave concerns about the legislation. It is really a compromise position that the Nationals should find acceptable. It’s tailored to them.”
 
Over the weekend, a motion calling for a services fee directed at university sport facilities and health care received majority support at the National Party’s federal council meeting in Canberra, according to ABC Radio.
 
Nationals Senator Fiona Nash reportedly said better sporting facilities created social interaction and provided students with a break from study. “Its not about sitting at a computer and spitting out your assignments – it’s about the overall university experience, and what that does to create individuals who can go back out and contribute in the best possible way they can.”
 
Ellis seized on the latest development. “I welcome the National Party’s public commitment to restoring student services on campus – even if this backflip comes a few days too late ,” she said.