Family First Senator Steve Fielding has given the Government the final vote it needed to pass its controversial voluntary student unionism legislation. “Some have argued that I should have supported the bill because unions fund welfare services such as counselling and childcare centres,” Fielding said. “But why would you need childcare when you’ve got a wife to stay at home and mind the kids?” he asked. “Those are the kinds of families we’re putting first.”

John Howard denied rumours that he had secured the legislation’s passage through a deal with Family First over the abortion drug RU-486. “It will remain entirely at the discretion of the Health Minister, Tony Abbott,” Howard said. “What more could the religious Right want?”

Fielding reiterated that no deal had been done on RU-486. “And as a devout Christian, I would never lie about that,” Fielding said. “It’s Family First policy only to lie when asked whether our party’s Christian.”

The student movement has refused to give in even after the passage of the legislation. “Our fervent opposition to VSU will still be heard,” the NUS President said. “As long as the student movement has enough funds to glue Senator Fielding’s door shut, we will continue to make futile, counterproductive protests against this legislation.”

Many non-students are also unhappy about the impact of VSU. “This legislation will have a terrible impact not just on students, but on the whole of Australian society,” one 40-year-old Greens campaigner said. “Now I’m going to have to pay for my own banners and megaphones.”

But Education Minister Brendon Nelson says that the VSU legislation will finally safeguard the principle of freedom of association. “The bottom line is that it’s wrong to compulsorily acquire funds and then spend them on improper political purposes,” Nelson said. “Unless you’re the Government, in which case it’s perfectly acceptable to spend $50 million of public money publicising WorkChoices.”

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