Twelve years ago as a first year university student I attended my first ever student protest march. The 25th of September 1997 has stuck in my mind ever since because it was the first and only time I have been arrested. Thankfully neither the District Court nor the High Court agreed with the Police decision to arrest 75 of us for trespass while we were protesting in parliament grounds.

It was an important test case because it confirmed the principle that all citizens have the right to protest peacefully at parliament. That case finally came to a conclusion a few weeks ago when the Police agreed to pay compensation and parliament’s speaker (which was actually Doug Kidd at the time) agreed to issue apologies.

Twelve years later, it’s interesting to see the issues that led to that protest march once again emerging from the new National government. Back in 1997 the then Bolger-led National government released a Green Paper on tertiary education. They proposed to introduce a corporatized, pro-market system for university and polytechnic funding. Democratically elected governing councils made up of stakeholders were to be replaced by boards of directors appointed by the government.

The Tertiary Review Green Paper followed hot on the heels of Max Bradford’s pro-market electricity reforms and came at a time when the public had tired of the privatisation agenda. It was yet another sign that the National government’s continued trumpeting of the New Right free market agenda was out of step with ordinary New Zealanders. Two years later Helen Clark’s Labour team comfortably won the 1999 general election.

Interesting to see, therefore, that the new Minister of Education Anne Tolley is putting some of those issues back on the table. The Sunday Star Times reports the government plans a radical overhaul of polytechnic governance, dumping about 250 of the 400 existing councillors. Maori and Pasifika representatives would be axed, along with representatives of employers, unions, and former students.

Tolley’s decision to resuscitate elements of the controversial and failed Tertiary Review Green Paper reforms is another signal that pro-market corporatisation and privatisation is firmly back on the government’s agenda. Education will be viewed as a commodity to be bought and sold, while students will be viewed as consumers, not learners.

Twelve years ago my opposition to these very reforms compelled me to join a protest march. What happened next was one of the key events that led me towards a life in politics. When Tolley brings her legislation before parliament, this time I won’t just be protesting outside, I’ll be fighting her every step of the way inside the House too.