Rally draws 7000 protesters

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 1

Rally draws 7000 protesters

By

MARITA VANDENBERG

Christchurch shoppers last evening saw one of the biggest protests in the city for many years when up to 7000 people marched peacefully through inner-city streets to a rally in the Square. The messages on the banners carried by marchers and the loud simple slogans they chanted said it all: “A.B.C.D. — we don’t want the higher fee”; “Educorp — the next step”; “Keep cheque books out of education.” The march, organised by the University of Canterbury Students’ Association, comprised secondary and tertiary students, academic staff and members of the public. It

capped off a week of protest action against the Government’s proposed user-pays education policies held in each university city during the last week. More remarkable than the numbers who braved the 8 deg. Christchurch cold however, was the lack of the usual heckling from bystanders; the mood of shoppers was one of quiet support About a dozen police escorted the protest and a number of them commented on how co-operative the marchers were. Marchers leapt aside quickly to create a clear route along Cambridge Terrace when an ambulance, transporting a man suffering a heart

attack could not be diverted. At 6.30 p.m. the first of the marchers arrived in the Square and began to gather in front of the Cathedral to listen to speakers. Ms Kerri Lightfoot, a student representative of the Christchurch College of Education addressed the crowd first. She said the Government was wrong to run glossy advertisements on television to entice people into teaching then ask them for $l5OO upon entry. “The Government says ...” Ms Lightfoot began, then lost her place in her speech, “Well who can remember off-hand what the Government says? They have changed their mind so many times. The latest is

that they’re now negotiating a loans scheme with just one bank.” Ms Lightfoot said she met a farmer last week who wanted to go to teacher’s college. “He would have to mortgage his farm to become a teacher,” she said. Speaking on behalf of overseas students, Mr Chai Wan and Mr Guang Voon said that if fees rose next year to between $BOOO and $14,000 overseas students would no longer be able to afford to study in New Zealand. Hardest hit were overseas seventh-formers and first-year tertiary students caught in the transition phase of funding without sufficient warning, they said.