NUS affiliation at University of Queensland
By Kathy Newnam
BRISBANE — A referendum on whether to affiliate to the National Union of Students will be held on the University of Queensland from May 26 to 30.
Over the past week of campaigning, members of the International Socialist Organisation have claimed, falsely, that Resistance is abstaining from the referendum campaign.
In many discussions within the Education Action Group at UQ, it has been made quite clear that Resistance will be campaigning for affiliation.
Campaigning for affiliation, however, does not mean being apologists for the way in which NUS has often sabotaged campaigns in order to assist the Labor Party.
Affiliation to NUS is not the key question in the campaign for free education. The key issue is building a vibrant campaign that is open to involvement by a broad range of students and other sectors affected by the attacks on education.
Resistance is committed to building such a campaign and will continue to build independent activist networks such as the UQ Education Action Group and the Queensland Education Action Network.
[Kathy Newnam is a Resistance activist at UQ.]