The Australian Union of Students (AUS), formerly National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), was a representative body and lobby group for Australian university and college of advanced education students. It collapsed in 1984 and was succeeded by the National Union of Students in 1987.

NUAUS

The NUAUS formed in 1937 as a representative body for Australian university students. An early president (1940) of the NUAUS was Frank Coaldrake, who was also the founding editor of the pacifist newspaper '' The Peacemaker'', the Chairman of the Australian Board of Missions and, just before his death, the Archbishop-elect of Brisbane. John Bannon, who would later be elected the 39th Premier of South Australia, was President of NUAUS in 1968.

AUS

Australian Union of Students (AUS) was established in December 1970 as a successor to the NUAUS, changing its name to reflect the addition of colleges of advanced education to the

tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

system in Australia. The 28th

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

, Tony Abbott, was a member of the AUS in 1977. American laser physicist and author Frank Duarte was a Macquarie delegate to AUS in 1980. Julia Gillard, later the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, was elected President of the Australian Union of Students in 1983. In late 1984 a special National Conference of AUS, chaired by the union's

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

n state organiser, wound up the union. The reason for its dissolution was its lack of access to funding from previously affiliated university campuses, which disaffiliated in 1983 as a result of a series of student referendums held at campuses around Australia. In 1987 the National Union of Students was established as a successor organisation.

Black Resource Centre

The Black Resource Centre (BRC), established in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

by Cheryl Buchanan in 1975, was supported by the AUS. The BRC produced two publications: ''Black News Service'' and ''Black Liberation''. ''Black News Service'' was published from April 1975 (vol.1, no.1) and ; ''Black Liberation'' was published between November 1975 (no.1) and July 1977 (Vol. 2, no. 3). Buchanan had a large network of contacts, and the newspapers could be distributed to many people and organisations around Australia. These included

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s, women's groups,

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

groups, Friends of the Earth Australia and Greenpeace Australia.PDF
/ref> ''Black News Service'' carried an article about activist and later poet, Lionel Fogarty, then aged 17, in its seventh issue in 1975. At first the students' union controlled the finances and all BRC activities had to be approved by them, but in 1976 Buchanan negotiated a grant from them that was administered directly by the BRC. The BRC moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, where Buchanan's family lived. Buchanan was a member of the Black Power movement and was quite militant in her approach, and like many other Aboriginal activists, was watched by

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North Ameri ...

. In 1977, the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

's National Liberal Student Association took the AUS to court, claiming they were spending student fees wrongfully, contravening the union's constitution. Along with other organisations, BRC was listed as receiving funds illegally, and their funding was withdrawn as a result. BRC and its publications became dependent on donations from readers and other organisations, leading to its demise.

Festivals

NUAUS and then AUS organised four alternative festivals, between 1967 and 1973, called the Australian Universities Arts Festival and Aquarius Festival, the latter being a starting point for a new development era of Byron Bay area.

Records

The archives of the Australian Union Of Students are held at the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

."MS 2412 Records of the Australian Union of Students"
''

'', Last modified on 13 November 2003. Retrieved on 2010-07-03.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Union Of Students Students' unions in Australia 1937 establishments in Australia 1984 disestablishments in Australia