It was against this background that delegates from each students' association met at NZUSA's Council at Auckland University during the May holidays. NZUSA's Council decided to ask the Government for:

1.	an immediate cost of living increase in the unabated rate of the Standard Tertiary Bursary to take into account the tremendous increases in living costs since the beginning of 1976 (that meant that the abatement would remain at $11 per week);
2.	immediate removal of the boarding abatement;
3.	payment of an unabated Standard Tertiary Bursary and the fees bursary to Ph.D students who were not receiving scholarships or other forms of assistance;
4.	removal of the most pressing anomalies in the Standard Tertiary Bursary.