Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 40 No. 11. May 23 1977
AUSA gets Fired Upon
AUSA gets Fired Upon
"That this Exec Exprfss to Ausa (Auckland University Students Association) its Concern and Dismay at the Decision to Request the Attendance of Mr Harder at a Disciplinary Hearing Because of his Efforts to Uphold the Rule of Law in the Recent Bus Drivers Dispute".
Harder is the Auckland Law Student who filed an injunction which was to rule the bus strike illegal and continued to generally harass the Tramways Union.
Thrush and Underwood were under the impression that his activities outside the university were the reasons he was appearing before the disciplinary committee. No-one at the time was aware of the real reasons. That enemy of the workers. Harder, had with-out requesting or informing the AUSA Exec, gone about campus attempting to collect money to carry on his attack on the drivers. The Auckland University Constitution states that raising funds on campus can only be done with the Executives permission. It was for this reason that Harder is to appear before the disciplinary committee. The Auckland Trades Council was considering blacklisting students when they heard of Murder's fund raising taking place on campus.
Everything Harder has done during the Drivers dispute can only be described as scurrilous and discreditable to AUSA, to which he is a member.
Of our executive Lindy Cassidy was the only voice (of an Exec member) to be raised against this motion Most appeared to agree with the sentiment of the above motion (given the entirely incorrect information they had received) but after much debate they were convinced that the Exec is not a policy making body. Of course the blood) Exec is not a policy making bloody body! The Exec as a group have no right to communicate concern or dismay to our brothers in Auckland.
For an Exec to express "..." to another Exec or SRC is hardly politic especially when you've got all facts wrong. Thrush and Underwood don't normally 'get involved in issues' and the fact that they involve themselves in this one ( not to mention the angle they take) suggests no morals but a combination of ignorance and arrogance culminating in a motion which is a discredit to our Association.
- Eugene Doyle