ACT tertiary education spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar announced yesterday that her Party wants to make the fee tertiary students pay for their support services voluntary.
The Student Services Fee, which is separate from tuition fees, helps go towards the services and facilities that students use.
Depending on the university, the fee helps fund things like Orientation Week events, student media like Salient or Critic Te Ārohi, clubs and societies, childcare services, sports and recreation facilities, and health services like subsidised GPs and free menstrual products.
Students, ACT argues, should have a menu of services for which they can choose pay seperately, instead of a blanket fee for things they don’t want or use.
This student vote teaser is entirely consistent with ACT’s Right Wing, Neoliberal, User Pays, Liberatian politics of selfishess that promotes individual choice over social responsibilty to society iand duty to others.
Except - when it applies to themselves.
When will they, I wonder, announce that paying tax should be on a voluntary menu basis?
Maybe I could choose not to pay my share for the upkeep of parliament buildings because I don’t go into them.
What about the salaries and expenses of David Seymour and the whole coterie of ACT MPs ? Could I choose to not pay my share of their salaries and expenses because I didn’t vote for them?
Frankly I can’t wait to see the end of the ME society and the rebirth of the WE society..
And we can do that… by applying libertarian principles - choosing…
…not to vote for ACT!
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I chose not to pay taxes that fund charter schools and private hospital contracts!
Amen! Succinct and accurate. I heard the abominable Parmer last night at candidates debate at University of Waikato. The audience was less than impressed with her and Costello. And, icing on the cake, Potaka was an ill-tempered defensive mess.