video of 15 sep anti-vsu protest : Melbourne Indymedia

Q: Anti-VSU protests have been an FAILURE, why?
A: The massive cost was actually a barrier to the poorest students. HECS is deferred, so the main barriers to poor students is the cost of living/centerlink payments and of books for study... however the poorest students couldn't afford ~$200 amenities fees that were being charged on TOP of these bare necessities to fund various rorts and similar things.

Q: Are there any other reasons?
A: Because of the rorting of student unions. For example at Monash two thirds of student amenities fees were signed away into the hands of private catering corporations who provided appauling service. The rest didn't go to anything other than beer swilling clubs and various other rorts. Such as the "Lot's Wife" student news paper which had a cushy sweet of offices and printed masses of rants in hard copy through subsidization when it should have been online. A big fuck you goes out to all the people who worked on Lot's Wife.

Q: Was there anything good from the fees?
A: A tiny amount of funds found their way to child care etc. but these useful applications have been sunk by the massive miss-management of student union leaders. It is on their heads that the unions have failed, the only services provided by the unions should have been these good services, but corporate interests, subsidies and beer took priority over anything good.

Q: So how would you sum up the reaction to VSU?
A: Well mainly it's a bunch of middle class whitey activists who were heavily involved in co-curricular gravy-trains. Everyone else has accepted that the party was good while it lasted but that there were too many unacceptable things the money was going to considering the money had to be paid for up front by the poor. Most people won't think twice about not having to pay the fee, but a small group of hardcores (and it really is small, look at the number of people at these protests) are trying to keep the battle going.

Q: How are they going to keep the battle going?
A: Well they are unable to actually face up to the fact that it's the rorting that's brought the house down, and that the fees should have been much smaller and they should have negotiated for a smaller fee to be deferrable into HECS, thus keeping the vital child care services alive, some of their own gravy positions even, and taking a burden off the poor by making the now-smaller fee deferable. They are unable to face up to this, and instead hold lame protests which attempt to link VSU with unrelated things like the deportation of Scott Parkin and the anti-terror laws so that it appears they have more protesters than they actually do.

Q: So what are you doing to combat this?
A: The solution should be to staunch the bleeding and wait for the next Labour government and hope to god the greens or the democrats get the balance of power in the senate. But as the Latham episode shows, the ALP is one monsterously sick pile of shit. We knew it was sick, but as shown by Beazley A-OKing the Scott Parkin affair it's pretty much made of cancer. Even a green or democrat controlled senate might not really be able to steer the massive pig, it's still going to be heading generally to the corporate trough to feed.

Q: No seriously, you didn't answer the question what can we do?
A: Latham's critique is false in the sense he's blaming everyone but himself. But it's true in the sense that what he says about politics is right. What needs to be done is work in local communities. More than half the local councils are controlled by liberal-party and property-developer stooges. Many local projects could be undertaken at this, and at the level of community groups, utilising the internet to make simple changes.

Q: So, like indymedia?
A: No, indymedia is an example of trying to make the protest "universal" the protest must not be linked with "stinkning hippies" and it must be situation specific. You cannot replace the media in a simple 4th estate sense like the indykid movement theorises. Blogs are a much better model of creating networks that have no central control but can mobilise masses of people. Another example is to help use the web to empower all citizens. Australia needs an http://www.opensecrets.org/ the greens are working towards one in NSW I believe, but more effort needs to be put towards alliances of non-party politicals, left-ALP, libertarian/principaled libs (there are one or two), democrat and greens to push through structural changes to the operations of democracy and accountability.

But the "what is to be done?" question is a very very difficult one and many possible courses of action are sabotaged by this kind of anti-VSU hijacking of Scott Parkin protests. I am totally opposed to Scott Parkin's deportation, and I am for childcare etc. for disadvantaged students, but I am totally against student unions in their rorting form. They shouldn't mix the issues it's disingenuous.

Thank you for your time.

There is one connection between Scott Parkin and the SU debate. Scott Parkin, like every student before VSU, had pain on his face as he got a huge fucking bill for something he didn't want.

The need to stop HoWARd means the need for a strong union between all people. Any argument that we need no defence from such a bully is leaving one self-open for abuse. We must defend our people by numbers and expect that those numbers will need to be organised by someone..HELP!

You only get out of it what you put into it. You put nothing in and you get nothing out! You can make a sign that will last for 1 year or twenty years depending on the type of paint you use.

The organisations focus on getting the numbers and the numbers focused on the real enemy and not on the dead wood!That takes research and time and that time costs something. Pay the fee get the numbers and services..

You can break one chopstick but try to break 100 all at the same time. You can't! Not without machinery. Even the great numbers need to be aware of that prospect. But nevertheless great numbers that turn their heads and walk the other way can break down the aggressors defence before the world.

Don't let the government take away your option to bail out and walk away in great numbers because by then you'll need all the help you can get!

That clip was a fantastic spectacle of true Aussie spirit.

Tell the truth and shame that Devil Howard.

He has caused not just the deaths of the innocence but the death of the Australian lifestyle.

What a disgrace...

Shame HoWARd shame!

Hi Fred.

I agree we must defend our people by numbers.

That's why it's so reassuring that with compulsory attendance at polling booths, our level of voter participation is the highest in the world.

Vast numbers of people, as you say.

I also agree you only get out of it what you put into it. People had the chance last year to have their say on John HoWARd et al.

And the result, as they say, is history. Get over it, Fred.

I'm not sure I get your metaphor about chopsticks, however. Something about corrupt Asian governments, perhaps?

No matter.

I'm going to whip it good!

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/96358_comment.php#96379

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/96358_comment.php#96379

I'm really embarrased, you leave the the screen saver on and have a few down the road then come back and find your mother telling Fred to have a lie down.

Sorry fred.

She means well, well she even voted, gave howard the one vote he needed to represent the minority that NOW rules this draconian despot of a nation

Mums a bit usure of metophors, she would understand if you said FUCK OFF YOU STUPID SLACK TWAT BITCH because thats what dad calls her.

nO MATTER FRED BECAUSE SHE MATTERS LESS.

you just can't choose family, thery are a burden, I've bought her a Christmas present, a first class flight to Bali with five nights at Kuta, and I've even got her one of those nice young men to give her personal services, I know its sick but it will be her last holiday. Because I'm doing her packing.