Do anarchists support voluntary membership?

On 13 April there was a very interesting programme about anarchy on Chris Laidlaw's 'Ideas' programme on National Radio. In an interview, Wellington anarchist Sam Buchanan described the principles behind anarchy,

"It starts from fairly simple principles….We have no right to be ruled unless we give consent to authority....Everything must be done by voluntary agreement…Let's work by voluntary agreement to finding out how can we make a society run without coercion, without authority, without violence."

So if everything must be done by voluntary agreement, would anarchists support voluntary membership of all incorporated societies?

Press Release: Finally, a Labour minister supports freedom of association

Student Choice were very pleased to hear Clayton Cosgrove's firm support for freedom of association and voluntary membership of clubs, unions etc. So we thought we'd publicly congratulate him, and remind him - and the rest of Labour - that what's good enough for workers, footy players, real estate agents, the Law Society etc etc is plenty good enough for students too.

Finally, a Labour minister supports freedom of association

Media release: Student Choice, 19 March 2008

Voluntary membership lobbyists Student Choice are congratulating Clayton Cosgrove after he demonstrated his support for freedom of association and hopes he will now persuade his colleagues why compulsory membership of tertiary student associations is wrong.

Speaking on Morning Report last week about a bill to reform the real estate profession, Mr Cosgrove defended plans to make membership of the Real Estate Institute voluntary by arguing in favour of voluntary membership and freedom of association.

Mr Cosgrove said, "We haven't had compulsory unionism for 20 years. Why should I as a politician tell you or anybody else what you should belong to?....If you want to join the footy club, the workingmen's club, the institute - go for it. It's your choice and you should have that right."

It's great that Mr Cosgrove understands the importance of freedom of association and voluntary membership and recognises that politicians shouldn't be telling any New Zealanders they should have to join any organisation.

We hope Mr Cosgrove will turn his attention to New Zealand's tertiary institutions where over 200,000 tertiary students are forced to join compulsory student associations as a result of the Education Act. New Zealanders cannot study unless they join and pay money to compulsory student associations. Compulsory student associations take over $20 million a year from New Zealand students.

If Mr Cosgrove looks at the tertiary student associations he'd see gross political misrepresentation, widespread waste, inefficiency and fraud - all caused by compulsory membership.

Unfortunately many of Mr Cosgrove's colleagues are prepared to tolerate the violation of students' right to freedom of association because of the benefits compulsory membership delivers to the Labour Party.

We encourage Mr Cosgrove to extend his support of voluntary membership to New Zealand's tertiary institutions.

Ends

Press Release: Student Choice Welcomes New Tertiary Education Minister

Sent out yesterday evening, and placed on Scoop earlier this afternoon. For extra credit, compare the behaviour I warn about below to what NZUSA, OUSA and OPSA talk about in their press releases. Cheers guys!


Student Choice Welcomes New Tertiary Education Minister

31 October 2007
Press Release - Student Choice

Student Choice congratulates Pete Hodgson on becoming the new Minister of Tertiary Education after today's Cabinet reshuffle, and challenges him to allow students the right to freedom of association by introducing voluntary membership for all student associations.

Spokesman Mike Heine said today, "tertiary education is a tough portfolio. One achievement of this Government has been to acknowledge the existence of multiple stakeholders, all with varying viewpoints, and recognising their views when formulating tertiary education policy.

"What previous Ministers and Governments have failed to realise is that students are no different; our opinions are just as varied as any other part of society.

"The current laws on compulsory student membership do not reflect this. Instead, student associations and NZUSA claim to speak for all students when they lobby for causes such as 'free education'. The reality, as they know, is very different.

"Student Choice hopes Mr Hodgson will remember this next time these groups attack his Government.

The only way Mr Hodgson can have an honest dialogue with students is to accept that students do not speak with one voice, and allow us the same freedom of association other groups in society enjoy," concluded Mr Heine.

Student Choice is a student-run, national organisation promoting voluntary student association membership on the grounds of freedom of association.

ENDS

EXCLUSIVE: VUWSA membership still compulsory

The Salient gang on the trail of another hot scoop

Well it has to be said, Salient are full of super sleuths.
Take this excerpt from Laura McQuillan's year in review article:

Salient also found out that VUWSA membership can be voluntary upon application to the VUWSA President, and suggests pro-VSM students sort that out for next year so we don’t have to hear about freedom of association anymore (by the way, to the guy in INTP363 who said in the first lecture that VUWSA membership violates his human rights – you’re a dick, and your voice sounds like Mickey Mouse).

First of all, to INTP363 guy, you're absolutely correct. No one should have to join an association that misrepresents their views.
But wait a minute - according to Salient we don't have to! Association membership is in fact voluntary after all!

But before I tell Student Choice to disband and go home, it might pay to have a closer look at the issue than Salient did.
The 'discoveries' they referred to in their September 17 article were taken from 229(A) from the Education Amendment Act 2000:

(5) A students association may, on the grounds of hardship, exempt any student from the obligation to pay the membership fee of the association; and a student so exempted may nonetheless be a member of the association.

(6) A students association may exempt any student from membership of the association on the grounds of conscientious objection; and, if exempted, the association must pay the student's membership fee to a charity of its choice.

(7) Every students association must ensure that information about the rights in subsections (5) and (6) is available to students before enrolment, and must make rules for dealing in a fair, timely, and consistent way with applications for exemption under either subsection.

Colour me confused, because I see nothing in there that provides for voluntary membership. What it does say is:

* If you're too poor you can beg the association to let them waive the levy - but you still have to join.

* If you have serious philosophical objections to joining a student association you can beg the association to let you not join, and if you're lucky (not everyone was granted such freedom this year) they'll agree - but you don't get your money back.

I would like to publicly congratulate Salient on 'discovering' a clause seven years after it was passed into law, and then totally misinterpreting it. That takes some remarkable skill to pull off.
There is also the issue of VUWSA violating subsection (7) in not making these 'exemptions' known to the student populace - a crime I suspect occurs on campuses nationwide.

The bigger point than that, even, is that freedom of association is not something anyone should ever have to ask permission for. To quote fellow Student Choice member Peter McCaffrey from the 17/9 article:

"The line of argument negates the notion of a right. It asks us to accept the violation of a right because a process exists whereby that right can be won through an appeal… rather than as something which is the natural entitlement of each citizen."

Student Choice advocates for a law change that will give all students this natural entitlement, without exception.
Until we get this, Salient - and everyone else - will be hearing plenty about it.

OUSA strikes hypocrisy mother lode

If you're a student politician in a compulsory association, one of the first political skills you need to master is the ability to take highly hypocritical stances with a straight face.

This means you need to be able to:

• simultaneously oppose and support fee increases
• complain about the student loan scheme while deriving half of your income from it
• and get all self righteous about freedom, choice and diversity while supporting compulsory membership

The Otago University Students Association (OUSA) is working itself into a lather about a university-drafted code of conduct. All of a sudden OUSA is concerned about students' rights and is claiming the proposed code falls outside the provisions of the Bill of Rights Act.

OUSA have hired constitutional lawyer Mai Chen to provide legal advice. I nearly choked on my cornflakes this morning when I heard Ms Chen on Morning Report saying,

"Just because you're a student at Otago University you don't relinquish your general rights as a human being which all human beings have under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act - the freedom of movement, freedom of association, the freedom to express oneself, the freedom from double jeopardy."

What a relief - a leading constitutional lawyer has confirmed what student choice has being saying for years: just because you're a student you don't give up your right to freedom of association.

OUSA, an organisation with a membership regime which directly violates freedom of association, must be extremely embarrased that their lawyer even raised the freedom of association issue. Now they're going to have to pay her to go back through the filing cabinets and find the late 1990s legal opinion produced by Chen and Palmer and paid for by NZUSA which claimed compulsory membership doesn't violate freedom of association.

But we can thank Ms Chen for restating student choice's position to the nation's media.

what is freedom of association?

Freedom of association is a fundamental civil and political right.

It's prescribed in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

Freedom of association has two elements.
1. You should be free to associate with whomsoever you wish for legal purposes.
2. You should not be forced to associate with others.

Compulsory membership of tertiary student associations violates clause number 2.

In New Zealand people who go to a tertiary institution to study are told they first have to associate with others. This takes the form of forcing people to join and fund an incorporated society, namely a tertiary student association.

There is no equivalent in New Zealand society. Hospital patients don't have to join a patients' society. Old age pensioners don't have to join Grey Power. Motorists don't have to join the Automobile Association. Warehouse customers don't have to join the Consumers' Institute.

True freedom of association would allow individual tertiary students to decide whether or not they join a student association.

voluntary membership in a nutshell

So what's this all about?

In short, this blog and student choice promote voluntary membership of tertiary students associations in New Zealand.

student choice believes in freedom of association and don't believe anyone should be forced to join a student association before they can enrol in a New Zealand tertiary institution.

We'll put forward the arguments in favour of voluntary membership and challenge the reasons put forward for compulsory membership.

We'll also highlight the flaws and problems - both past and present - of compulsory membership.

And we intend to have a bit of fun along the way.