The $10 Billion Debt Millstone
On April 10th 2008, collective student debt in New Zealand hit a monumental $10 Billion.
Click here to see Green MP Metiria Turei questioning Minister for Tertiary Education Pete Hodgson on the $10 billion debt "milestone".
So how did we get into this mess anyway?!
Ten billion dollars. A number so mind-numbingly gigantic it’s almost impossible to get your head around. It’s the equivalent of what it would cost to build 42 Eden Parks, 
bankroll a Peter Jackson epic 156 hours long, buy enough pot-noodles to stack to the moon and back, or buy the world a coke (with change). *
Tertiary education was free until 1989 when Labour introduced a tuition fee for all students. In the 1990s, fees rose every year under National and access to student allowances was severely restricted. New Zealand tuition fees are now among the highest in the world, only around a third of students receive any form of allowance and those who miss out are the only group in society forced to borrow to live.
Before National and Labour made us pay, tertiary education was fully funded and seen as a fundamental right available to all those capable of participating. In 1989, the average fee was a tiny $129. Today, the average tuition fee is a whopping $5,874.
Why is student debt a problem?
Student debt is negatively affecting students, graduates, families, society and the economy. Research has shown that debt is putting graduates off starting families and is contributing to the decline in homeownership by making it difficult to save for a first home. Debt is driving many of New Zealand’s best and brightest overseas, leading to chronic skill shortages in key roles such as social work, nursing and medicine. This is wreaking havoc on the social fabric of our nation and jeopardising New Zealand's economic future.
On April 10th 2008, collective student debt hit a staggering $10 billion. Labour's tinkering with the loan scheme has failed to address the key drivers of debt – lack of access to allowances and high fees. Their lack of action has seen debt climb at a rate of around $1 billion a year. It’s time to put a stop to the failed experiment of student loans and unshackle hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders from an unnecessary and debilitating debt trap.
So how do we fix it?!
Free education in 2008 is realistic and affordable. Tertiary education should be treated like primary and secondary education where all New Zealanders are entitled to free, public education. It’s simply a matter of priorities.
The introduction of a universal living allowance and the elimination of tuition fees are key to dealing to the debt monster that’s been inflicted on our nation, and achieving genuine equity and access in tertiary education. NZUSA is fighting for this in 2008.
You can join the campaign to ensure that all students receive a living allowance to pay for basic living costs while they study, and see an end to the destruction of student debt.
Election year is the perfect opportunity to put pressure on political parties to commit to policies addressing student debt. By fighting together as a student movement, we can ensure they present genuine alternatives to a generation whose future is now mortgaged to the state.
Use your vote in 2008 to elect a pro-student, anti-debt government!
*Yes, we actually did the maths on these.