International students demand equal rights

Hundreds of students took to the streets in Sydney on September 2 to protest against racism and to demand transport concessions equal to those of local students.

The rally started at the University of Sydney at noon and attracted attention and support from thousands of passers-by before ending in front of the New South Wales Parliament.

Elly Howse, from the Student Representative Council of the University of Sydney – one of the organisers of the march – said the aim was to pressure the Government to change legislation that has discriminated against international students for 20 years.

“We also want to raise dialogue on concerns about international student issues. International students are perceived in a negative way, and there have even been violent attacks against them in Sydney and Melbourne recently,” she said.

The rally involved most Sydney universities which responded to a call from the National Union of Students. It also won support from organisations sympathetic to international student grievances about safety, accommodation, visas and shonky educational institutions.

“As a local student, I strongly support the international student fight for equal rights. The Australian government should run education as a service rather than a profitable business,” said Hannah Goldstein, an English major at the University of Sydney.

Sakshi Sehgal, an Indian student at the University of New South Wales, said international students had long been regarded as a cash cow for the country: “We pay more tuition fees than local students but we are not treated equally.”

International students also had the support of University of Sydney vice-chancellor, Dr Michael Spence.

“The university has long been pushing the NSW Government to grant international students transport concessions. We have a clear commitment to all students no matter where they come from,” Dr Spence said.

“We’ve been doing a lot to improve the security of international students and to provide affordable accommodation for all students. We should treat international students as honoured guests of our country.”

The rally collected thousands of signatures in a petition handed to Parliament.

Australia has long been regarded as a melting pot of different cultures because of its open immigration and education policy.

Some 547,000 overseas students are now studying and living here, contributing $15.5 billion to the education sector, Australia’s third-largest export following coal and iron ore.

New South Wales and Victoria are the only two states that do not grant transport concessions to international students.

– By Gang Shen