With the possibility of voluntary membership looming, Dunedin's student associations are clinging on to their futures by their fingertips.
On the face of it, the Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) Bill makes democratic sense: New Zealanders are not forced to belong to any other organisations or union, so why should students have to pay compulsory fees to belong to student associations?
But student association leaders take issue with that. They see themselves not as unions but service providers, likening themselves to local authorities which collect compulsory rates in return for facilities and services offered.
The Otago University Students Association and Otago Polytechnic Students Association are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, in case VSM becomes a reality and their revenue source is cut off from 2012. Unless the associations can find money from elsewhere, it appears inevitable services and staff will be slashed.
OUSA and OPSA membership fees are used to fund services such as tenancy advice, budget advice, hardship grants, common rooms, lockers, campaigns, events, contributions to the Unipol gymnasium (in which both organisations are part owners alongside the University of Otago) and contributions to Student Job Search. Each association publishes a magazine and OUSA runs Radio One.
Fees also support administration offices, a local representation structure and contributions to national representation through the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations.
The OUSA also has significant business interests. It owns and runs the University Bookshop and has a share in the University Union building. Its $13 million property portfolio includes an aquatic centre on the shores of Otago Harbour, the Clubs and Societies building in Albany St and the Student Services Centre in Ethel Benjamin Pl.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 16 student associations throughout the country shows they gathered $10.2 million from their members in 2008.
Based on the Australian experience, where voluntary membership was introduced in 2005, and on what happened after the University of Auckland association went voluntary, the report estimates students will leave in droves if the VSM bill is passed and revenue could drop by 95%.
OPSA president Meegan Cloughley reckons her organisation, tiny in comparison with its university neighbour, would be "gone within six months" as a representation entity.
Even though she will not be president if the axe falls - her term ends in December - it is an unpalatable vision.
"Why fix something that isn't broken? Students didn't ask for this."
However, polytechnic students may notice little change in the range of services available to them. For years, OPSA has been contracted by Otago Polytechnic management to deliver some student services and even if VSM is passed, it is likely that system would continue.
The polytechnic collects a compulsory student services levy, of which $342,000 was paid this year to OPSA.
The 120-year-old OUSA, one of the most financially secure associations in the country, would doubtless survive in a truncated form, president Harriet Geoghegan says.
Her preferred option would be for the university to do the same as Otago Polytechnic has done and contract OUSA to provide student services on its behalf.
But it is by no means certain which services the university might fund or whether the OUSA would win a delivery contract.
Ms Geoghegan and Ms Cloughley say the bottom line is students will still pay for access to student services, whether it is a compulsory fee to a student association or a compulsory levy to a tertiary institution, "which begins to make the compulsory-voluntary argument behind this Bill a bit redundant", Ms Geoghegan points out.
The presidents say the introduction of VSM could also leave student associations unable to adequately represent students.
The University of Auckland pays for and runs elections for a student representative on the university council, with separate elections to find a student association president, Ms Geoghegan says.
"A system like that [on other campuses] would definitely dilute representation. If we have to get students to vote in two separate elections, it just doesn't make sense. It is unnecessary bureaucracy."
OUSA and OPSA staff are naturally anxious about their futures, the presidents say.
Mark Baxter is one of those whose job might be at risk. A student leader in Dunedin through the 1990s, he has been employed as full-time services officer at OPSA for about 10 years.
He spent part of his holidays recently visiting smaller student associations on campuses in Sydney.
The news was depressing, he says.
"Most of the bigger associations have survived but only do half the work they were doing before. Most of the associations the size of OPSA are gone or are sad shadows of their former selves."
All were struggling to truly represent students, he says.
Unsurprisingly, Mr Baxter does not support the VSM Bill, calling it "heavy and unfair".
Until they know whether the Bill will proceed and in what form, student associations are in limbo.
Ms Cloughley is not hopeful of the Bill being thrown out, saying it appears legislative change is "a done deal".
Ms Geoghegan is also making contingency plans.
"Ideally, the select committee will say this Bill is a really silly idea and recommend not to proceed with it. But as we all know, the ideal world is often not the real world, so we'll have to see what happens."
What is the VSM Bill?
The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill, or Voluntary Student Membership Bill for short, proposes membership of tertiary student associations should be voluntary rather than compulsory.
The private member's Bill, sponsored by Act New Zealand MPs Heather Roy and Sir Roger Douglas, was written in 2006 and drawn from the hat last year for consideration by Parliament.
It was referred to the education and science select committee, which heard that of 4400 submissions received - including about 600 from Dunedin - about 98% of them opposed any change to the status quo.
The committee must report back to Parliament by September 30. It may recommend the Bill be passed into law with minor amendments, proceed with major amendments, or not proceed at all.
