Labor won the election, but what does their student club do on campus for you?
- Vic Bailey and Yvette Campitelli-Slee
- May 20
- 6 min read
On May 3, Australia went to the polls and kept the Labor Party in the top job for the next three years.
But when it comes to your life on campus, how does their student club work for you?
We asked the RMIT ALP Labor Club where they stood on key issues affecting students.
A bit of background
RMIT was founded in 1887 and was then known as the Working Men’s College.
Through funding supplied by philanthropist Francis Ormond, the Trades Hall Council, and public donations, the college had “the aim of bringing education to the working people of Melbourne”.
Today, RMIT’s ALP Labor Club says it continues to champion the interests of Australian workers and unions.
RMIT’s ALP Labor Club is estimated to have been active at our university since 1967.
The club says its key objectives are to encourage diverse voices in the Australian Labour Movement, highlight the importance of workplace rights, and help young people gain political experience.
Some notable university alumni who were club members include Member for Jagajaga Kate Thwaites, former Victorian Minister for Planning Justin Madden, and former Victorian Deputy Premier Rob Hulls.
There are no paid positions within the club at RMIT. It is entirely volunteer-based and run. Some members of the club are members of Young Labor.
The importance of political involvement
We asked the ALP Labor Club why it is important for students to be aware of and involved in Australian politics.
This was their response.
“If young people aren't engaged in politics, then they won't be represented by politicians,” the ALP Labor Club said.
“The presence of young people in the Labor Party means that Labor takes young people seriously in its policy development, and through Young Labor conferences and organising, we can advocate for the adoption of our policy in the national policy.”
However, recent analysis of the voting behaviours of Gen Z and Millennial Australians suggests this voting cohort may be less likely to back the major parties.
Flinders University Lecturer in Government Dr. Intifar Chowdhury said in an article with The Conversation, “Gen Z, especially those who are highly educated, are the cohort to watch” for Labor and the Liberals.
This group tends to be less committed to the traditional two-party system and is more inclined to vote for an independent or minor party candidate.
Dr. Chowdhury says more progressive personal values, “political socialisation”, and major party disillusionment are all potential reasons for this trend.
The ALP Labor Club said, “Our club hopes to make RMIT a more inclusive and transparent institution.”
“We take a stand for affordable education, student welfare, climate action, and stronger democratic participation on campus. We do this by engaging on campus and outside of campus, especially supporting the Albanese Labor Government's Education Reforms.”
Education
One of Labor’s most prominent election promises was to take 20% off all student debt.
According to The Department of Education, this will come into effect on June 1 2025, before indexation. However, this is subject to legislation passing in parliament.
At Budget time last year, the party also announced they would wipe $3 billion off student debt.
On a similar note, the ALP Labor Club supports Labor’s “fee-free TAFE permanent”, which they say is “helping young people gain skills and get ahead”.
Former Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor said in a press release that between January 2023 and September 2024, “more than 568,400 Australians have enrolled in Free TAFE”.
A comment from the CEO of TAFE Directors Australia found that “ up until 30 years of age, the aggregate across Australia of TAFE enrolments tends to be nearly 60% male compared with just under 40% female”.
RMIT’s ALP Labor Club says the Labor Party creates their student-oriented legislation through “engagement with young people, hearing their priorities and developing them into policies”.
The Club wants to promote “affordable and accessible education”.
International conflict and social justice
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese belongs to the Left faction of the Labor Party, which tends to be more socially and economically progressive than other party factions.
But the PM has been criticised by those on the Left of his party for not doing enough to stand against Israel’s invasion of Palestine.
Albanese says he firmly disagrees with that sentiment.
The ALP Labor Club said, “While we currently have a major focus on domestic politics… by fostering a diverse club environment with people from different backgrounds, we create discussions about global politics and help people learn about international issues.”
“The Albanese Labor Government has shown that a Labor government has improved diplomatic relations and allowed the Australian government to advocate for these causes, including supporting aid to Ukraine, taking in refugees from Afghanistan, and a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza to support a peaceful two-state solution.”
The Australian Government currently do not recognise a Palestinian State.
But, they also have not clearly stated whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be welcomed into the country.
Though former Liberal and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced as part of his policy platform that Mr Netanyahu “would be a welcome guest in our country”, as reported by The Australian.
While maybe not a conflict, young men shifting to the right of the political spectrum is certainly a worry.
With Andrew Tate's rise and US President Donald Trump’s re-election, Australia is particularly worried about how this will influence the voting habits.
We asked the ALP Labor Club whether they have any policies to address this trend.
“While there is certainly a pernicious increase in young men moving to the far right, we don’t particularly see this to the same degree in Australia. Young men in Australia seem to be mostly bucking this trend with a recent poll from Resolve showing a 10-point shift towards Labor in Gen Z men as compared to 2022,” they said.
“We think this is primarily a result of Labor’s commitments to young voters and investment into early education around relationships and respect for women.”
We also asked the ALP Labor Club about violence against women.
According to Australian Femicide Watch, at the time of publication, 28 women have been killed as a result of domestic violence this year.
“Violence against women is a serious and ongoing problem in Australia, and addressing it needs to be a major priority of the Albanese Labor Government,” the ALP Labor Club said.
“Important work has begun and needs to continue on changing attitudes and behaviours that are harmful and perpetuate domestic violence.”
“Labor in its last term legislated domestic violence leave, an incredibly important policy that is one part of Labor’s efforts to reverse current trends. Labor has also invested $3.4 billion… in supporting women and children’s safety, but more needs to be done.”
In saying that, Labor did not propose any policies regarding women’s safety or domestic violence in the most recent federal election campaign.
Political influence
While RMIT has over 160 student clubs, not all are politically driven.
The RMIT ALP Labor Club is one of the four political clubs, alongside the Socialist Alternative Club, the Social Democrats Society and the RMIT Liberal Club.
But when compared to universities like the University of Melbourne and Monash University, which both have well-established politics and law courses, RMIT’s technology focus could suggest our club has less influence over Young Labor policy.
The ALP Labor Club disagrees.
“While RMIT may be a quieter campus, the nature of being a dual study campus allows us to reach people from more parts of society than other political clubs, and VE [Vocational Education] students are a huge part of our club membership which many others lack engagement with,” they said.
“Many of our club’s alumni have gone into policy development roles not dissimilar to any other political club.”
Looking ahead
In the 2025 election, Gen Z and Millennial voters outnumbered the generations before them, and this trend will only continue to grow as more young Australians become eligible to cast their ballots.
Students will likely continue to have political influence and voice, and clubs like the ALP Labor Club are likely to remain an important feature of campus life.
These clubs will also be vital for political parties, Labor or not, to check in with and attempt to win over students and secure their ever more meaningful vote.
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