Nelson plans national student vote on VSU

I don't like this one bit, and before you start accusing me of being anti-democratic, just hear me out.

Nelson's proposed plan is to put VSU to a national vote of students, to be overseen by the Electoral Commission. Fine in theory, except that student unions will then be forced to campaign for their own survival, against a government set on having this law passed. This will force student associations to be seen as highly political campaigners (which is exactly what Nelson wants), and will also force student associations to spend the very money that is under dispute, on such a campaign .. which, of course, is perfect fuel for the government to point out the miss-spending of such monies.

So, as I see it, this is a trap, and one that should be avoided at all costs. The other aspect of this issue, as Barnaby Joyce points out, is that the outcome of such a vote would not only effect today's students, but students of the future, as well as the communities that rely on their local university campus for various educational, sporting and cultural support and infrastructure.

The vote should therefore take place in the Senate, by our elected representatives, where I think the issue has its best chance of being debated properly (so long as Barnaby, and other senators, stick to their principles as they seem to be so far). Forcing student unions to go out and spend GSF money to convince students to pay GSF is just not acceptable.