Waikato Uni Must Investigate $30,000 Nexus Payout

student-choice

Tue Mar 18 2003 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Waikato Uni Must Investigate $30,000 Nexus Payout

Tuesday, 18 March 2003, 1:54 pm
Press Release: Student Choice

The University of Waikato council must investigate the payment of $30,000 by a company owned by the compulsory Waikato Students Union (WSU) to settle a defamation claim against a former WSU executive member, Student Choice said.

Spokesman Clint Heine said the university council had a responsibility to investigate the circumstances surrounding the payment because the money was paid by Nexus Publications Limited, a company owned by WSU, and the university requires all students to join and fund WSU before they can enrol.

Heine said compulsory membership of WSU will cost Waikato students over $600,000 this year. "There is a huge amount of student money sloshing around WSU and its associated companies. As the university supports forcing students to fund WSU and collects money on behalf of the association, the council has a moral responsibility to check if students' money is being used properly," Heine said.

Heine said the root cause of the problems afflicting WSU was compulsory membership of the association. "The exorbitant amount of money accumulated by compulsory membership creates a tempting target for individuals who want to spend other people's money. Vice chancellor Bryan Gould supports compulsory membership of WSU so he should investigate the association and give Waikato students a watertight guarantee that their money is not being wasted," Heine said.

Heine said the Labour government is ultimately to blame for the WSU mess. Steve Maharey's education amendment act, which makes compulsory membership possible, gives compulsory associations income regardless of how poorly they perform. Labour's pro-compulsory membership policy allows student politicians to waste millions of dollars every year, Heine said.

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