Locke Keith: Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Locke Keith: Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:674;Page:20309] 
KEITH LOCKE (Green) 
: 
 I was in the Chamber listening to the debate before the dinner break and I think the real reason for the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill came from one of the National speakers. That speaker complained about students associations and this clause is concerned with students associations being full of Labour activists. I think that is really what it is about. 
It is true that our campuses are full of Labour and Green activists and many of those Labour and Green activists are involved in students associations and have traditionally been involved in students associations. The reason they are involved is that they are motivated by trying to help their fellow students to help people in New Zealand and often to help people overseas. They have been the core of many of what are now recognised as very commendable protests against apartheid against nuclear weapons against the Viet Nam War you name it over the decades. Often it has been the students associations the Young Labour and Young Greens activists the independent progressive-type activists who have a social conscience who have been involved in those activities which have led to such advances in New Zealand society and helped people overseas in places such as what was previously apartheid South Africa. 
As well as being interested in those political and social issues of course students associations with a lot of involvement of Labour and Green activists have been concerned with services for their fellow students. I think maintaining those in the best form is what we should all be concerned about. I do not think the speakers from National in particular have really answered the question of how we will maintain those support services in the best form if we go down the track of this bill. 
The very best of our society is people looking after each other be it amongst students be it in the community be it internationally and that is what our educational institutions should foster should welcome and should praise. It appears that is what the National speakers do not want. They want some form of individualism where everyone just looks after themselves be it for the good of or to the detriment of society. I think we are bigger than that. Parliament is bigger than that. 
Parliament should be encouraging people to be active in politics and well motivated. Many of the people in this Parliament and previous parliaments have cut their teeth in terms of social and political actions on being involved in student politics and often in students association positions. Looking around the Chamber right now I can see people who fit that category and that is commendable. We do not want to go completely the other way and be a mean society undermine student services— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: What does clause 8 say? 
KEITH LOCKE 
: Clause 8 is about students associations and that is what I am speaking to. I am saying that it is important we keep in legislation a reference to students associations in order to highlight their importance and to highlight the importance of the people who are just reaching maturity and becoming involved in education also developing a social conscience that they will use not only while they are at university but in later life including in the politics in this Chamber. Thank you.