Australian univ students hold rallies against ''poverty''

Brisbane, Apr 12 (UNI) Australian University students today rallied across the country to protest against student poverty and the changes made by the Government in higher education.

Students held a rally at their campus in Brisbane, with city marches planned in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth as part of a National Day of Action.

National Union of Students president Rose Jackson said the protests were organised to press for five of their major demands which include increasing Youth Allowance at least to the poverty line, decreasing the age of independence from 25 to 18, extending eligibility for Rent Assistance to Austudy recipients, removing the GS tax on textbooks and adequate funding for student organisations.

Police authorities yesterday failed in a last-ditch bid to stop the protests after a court ruled that the students should be allowed to march.

Meanwhile, the Australian Democrats supported the students by calling upon the Government to immediately address anomalies in student income support.

''Students are suffering as a result of this Government's unfair student income support measures. Many students are struggling to survive below the poverty line," Democrats' Higher Education Spokesperson Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said.

The National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia also called upon all international students to show solidarity noting that one of the issues -- to protest the effects of the implementation of the VSU legislation which is continuously causing the closure and downsizing of vital student services -- held importance for the foreign students as well.

This could have dire consequences on international students, who make up at least 15 per cent university students in Australia and rely heavily on the services provided by student organizations on university campuses, the NLC Acting National Convenor, Song Yee Ng said.

In addition to this, the NLC is using the Day of Action to highlight other issues pertinent to international students such as harsh student visa requirements and mandatory cancellation of minor visa breaches that treat international students equally to persons who have been recognized as a risk to Australia's National Security, she said in a release.

UNI XC PR VC2016