Only $4.6 billion a year

Stuff reports:

New Zealand First is promising to wipe student loans for new students who stay and work in the country for five years, and it says that it will only cost $4.6b a year.

Only cost $4.6 billion a year.

Just imagine what the cost will be if there is a Labour/Green/NZ First Government. That surplus will disappear faster than the Flash, and it will be borrow, borrow and hope.

Tertiary Education Minister Paul Goldsmith had similar misgivings – and didn’t trust the NZ First costings.

“The universal student allowance alone could cost an additional billion dollars per year,” Goldsmith said.

“Our approach is to provide most students with interest-free student loans to contribute to their living costs, and to target student allowances only to those most in need.

“We know that graduates go on to earn around 40 per cent above the median income and that the median repayment time for New Zealand-based students is just under 6.5 years.

The NZ First policy (and Labour’s) is an appalling bribe taking money off taxpayers and giving it to the most privileged in society. They claim to care about inequality yet they want to spend billions more on the most well off.

Universities NZ research has found:

New Zealand university graduates earn between $1.3-$4 million more over their careers than a non-graduate after their costs of study are taken into account.

Taxpayers already fund around 70% of the cost of tertiary study. NZ First and Labour (and probably Greens) want taxpayers to fund 100% which is bonkers. Tertiary education produces both public and private benefits which is why both taxpayers and students should contribute towards it.