Higher Education Spokesperson for the Australian Greens, Senator Lee Rhiannon yesterday tabled a motion in the Federal Senate praising the role of student unions in campus life and calling on Macquarie University to end legal action against seven of its postgraduate students.
Whilst the motion, which was debated Wednesday afternoon at 4pm, was unsuccessful, President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Meghan Hopper said that it drew critical attention to the plight of the postgraduate students who have come to be known as the “Macquarie 7”.
“Macquarie University’s legal action against seven of its own student leaders sets a really dangerous precedent in the relationship between student unions and their Universities, so to see Greens Higher Education Spokesperson, Senator Lee Rhiannon acknowledge that and bring national attention to the case through a motion in the Senate is very important” said Ms Hopper.
“Since the Macquarie 7 began to receive notice to appear in Court last week, there has been an outpouring of support from around the country from students, academics, trade unions, and from parliamentary spokespeople including Senator Lee Rhiannon, and we feel that has helped the students a lot” Ms Hopper said.
“What Macquarie University is putting these student leaders through is wrong, it is obviously deeply distressing to the students involved, and we are very hopeful that Macquarie will withdraw its legal action and reach an outcome which secures genuine, democratic and independent student representation for Macquarie students” Ms Hopper said.
Macquarie University is taking seven of its own postgraduate students to the Supreme Court on September 3rd in an attempt to forcibly wind up the seventeen-year-old Macquarie University Postgraduate Student Association and seize over $500,000 in assets accrued through student memberships prior to the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism. They are also seeking legal costs.
The Executive of the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association has not had access to its own bank account since December 20, 2013 when the University sought a freeze on the account through the National Australia Bank.
Two of the students involved in the Court case are international students. Over twenty-nine per cent of Macquarie’s students are international students, one of the highest proportions of any Australian University.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations has acquired pro bono legal advice for the Macquarie 7 and is also handling all media inquiries on behalf of the students.
The Senate:
Student organisations provide important services for students across Australia, including child care, counselling, sports representation and advocacy. The Howard government’s reforms were devastating for students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds who relied on the provision of many of these services. While the student services and amenities fee went some way towards redressing the lack of service provision, its major weakness has always been the fact that independent student organisations have not been guaranteed funding. Macquarie University’s legal attack on ‘the Macquarie seven’—the board of the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association—is unprecedented. As the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations points out, the issue is an important test case. It is important for those of us who support independent, vibrant, democratic student organisations to stand up against attacks like this, otherwise they may start becoming a common occurrence.
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
