75th year of student action kicks off

75th year of student action kicks off in Wellington

The seventy fifth year of student action in New Zealand kicks off with the New Zealand University Students' Association (NZUSA) Conference in Wellington this week.

"NZUSA was formed in 1929 and we intend to recognise great student campaigns and activists through the years, " said Fleur Fitzsimons, Co-President of NZUSA. "Over the last seventy five years students have had a huge impact on the politics and culture of this country, and NZUSA has been instrumental in this."

"This conference will begin the celebration of the history of our organisation," said Fitzsimons. "We'll also be looking forward planning campaigns and actions for 2004 to put real pressure on the Government to deliver on their promises to increase access to student allowances."

"We've been waiting too long for Labour to deliver meaningful change to the unpopular loans scheme," said Amanda Hill, Conference Spokesperson and President of the Victoria University Students Association. "Our claim to the Human Rights Commission is a ground-breaking challenge to these unfair policies."

"We'll also be carrying on the proud student tradition of taking to the streets to fight for students. A living allowance for all students is top of our list of demands and we have the full support of the New Zealand public," said Hill.

A student cardboard city will be created at Parliament Grounds at 4 pm Friday to draw attention to the plight of the two thirds of tertiary students who are not entitled to an unemployment benefit if they can't find work over summer.

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