Hot Issues & Campaigns

 

 

 

Thursdays in Black

Wearing black on Thursdays indicates that you have a desire for a community where we can all walk safely without fear of being beaten-up, verbally abused, raped, discriminated against because of your gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. It shows that you want to be free.

Thursdays in Black T-shirts are for sale from OPSA office.

 

 

 

Accommodation

While there are many great flats out there, some of Dunedin's rental housing stock is not suitable for its usage.

Dunedin landlords have a free system available to them to give their flats a standardised rating (based on an idea OPSA presented to the DCC in 2004), allowing renters to better know what they're signing up for. Check all the flats on your next year's list to see which flat is really best - Student Tenancy Accommodation Rating Scheme.

If you have a specific problem with your current flat contact OPSA if you need help or advice dealing with your landlord.

 

 

 

VSM

The VSM bill before parliament this year is likely to be a hot issue. ACT's proposed "full-blown" VSM has only ever been tried in Australia, and ended up costing students more in return for less services and representation.

 

Another effect of this bill is that students' associations will no longer be a strong voice for student issues - no one to voice students concerns about the increasing costs of education, no one to stand up for you when you have issues with your institution, and no one to complain about erosion of student support...

 

Indeed looking at the effects of VSM in Australia on most smaller associations - like OPSA -have been forced to disband. There's no reason to think that VSM won't have the same effect on OPSA; so not only will your services and voice be harmed, they'll probably be gone altogether.

More information about VSM, its effects, and what you can do, can be found here.

 

 

 

STIs

The Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association in partnership with Otago Polytechnic is offering all Otago Polytechnic Students free STI checks for the month of April 2009.

 

 

 

Smoke Alarms

The Otago Polytechnic Students' Association is reminding student tenants and landlords to take steps to avoid house fires in the coming winter.

 

 

 

Public Transport

OPSA is frequently receives complaints about the inadequacy of bus time-tables and routes, and the cost of fares. Over the last decade OPSA and OUSA have worked with the Regional Council and routes and timetables have been improved to better meet the needs of Polytechnic students, and we are grateful for these .

However, Dunedin buses are now the most expensive in the country - it is cheaper for most OPSA staff and exec to use a single-occupant private car instead of a Dunedin bus to get to Polytechnic.

OPSA has proposed several models of fares, including a fare-free system.

 

 

 

Education Campaign

Student Debt
Tertiary education was relatively free until 1989 when user-pays education was introduced. While the government still significantly subsidises tertiary education, New Zealand has since became one of the most expensive places to study in the world.

OPSA believes in everyone's right to access a quality tertiary education. But user-pays education creates a significant barrier to this right for many people. User-pays effectively means Payer-uses, because only those who can pay are able to use.

When fees were dramatically increased in the early 1990s the government was forced to introduce the student loans scheme so people could afford to study. Student loans have allowed many people access to study that otherwise would not be able to in a user-pays system, but they have of course also transferred debt on to graduates (until interest was removed, student debt was set to exceed the country's national debt before 2020).

Universal Allowances
Students should not be the only class of people forced to borrow simply to eat. All full-time students should be entitled to an adequate living allowance equivalent to the dole. A basic human right you would have thought.

Fees
New Zealand has had explosive fees increases during the 1990s, and still has fee increases that outstrip inflation. Research carried out by New York's Buffalo University ranks New Zealand fourth in the world for fees at public tertiary institutions. The average costs are higher than those at similar institutions in Australia, the USA and the UK

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Interest
Interest on debt was highly unfair - a lower-income worker (eg a nurse) could end up paying more in total for their education than a higher-income worker who could pay off their debt more quickly (eg a doctor).

Fair's fair
Our parents' generation got their education not just interest-free - but almost entirely for free. However, rather than re-pay it via fair taxes, they now live in a relatively low-tax country and have effectively passed their debt on to us by implementing user-pays education.

 

 

Undy 500

OPSA is warning its members that it will expel students guilty of illegal activities as part of the underground Undy 500 event. OPSA intends to expel any members guilty of violence and damage at the event, and its best recommendation to students is simply to stay away.

OPSA calls for end to Undie 500