Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 2. March 5 1979

[Introduction]

The headline of the article which carried the story in the Evening Post made it look as though this rise was certain. Don't be fooled. The $9 increase is only what the Education Department has recommended. This proposal has gone to Treasury, who will add their recommendations, and finally to our new Minister of Education Merv Wellington. Treasury are almost certain to oppose the suggestion unless they can find some way of financing the proposal by cutting some other student allowances [unclear: tnces]. Wellington has already said that ranks the Bursary proposal towards the bottom of the 50 or so recommendations from the Education Department.

If we are to have any chance at all of getting this increase we must start fighting now. If we organise properly we have a chance of forcing Wellington to grant the increase. The Education Department proposal makes it clear that the existing level of the Bursary is quite inadequate. The increase would almost put the Bursary back on the same effective level that it was when it was set-up in 1975.

The ammunitionis there to use, if we combine it with mass action, if we ensure that appropriate representations are made, above all if we can demonstrate that students are behind the increases — then we may indeed get it. But there is no way that silting on our bums and placing our faith in the Education Department's recommendations will win it for us. Time and again students have allowed chances to slip through their fingers. If we let this one slip, we are not likely to get another so good.

We have the support of the Department, we have the documentary ecidence and possibly most significant, we have an inexperienced Minister. If students can't do something with all that, well we may as well all pack up and go home.