The NZBR believes membership of students associations should be voluntary and supports the general thrust of the bill. We do not wish to comment on its detailed provisions. However, we note that the present bill differs from the one introduced by Mr Michael Laws in 1994 in at least two important respects. First, it allows tertiary institutions to impose a levy for services they consider need to be provided as part of a tertiary education. This was not permitted under the Laws' bill, and could have been regarded as an infringement of institutional autonomy. Secondly, it provides for a transitional period to allow students associations to prepare for voluntary membership. We support both these provisions.