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news > press releases
Feel free to browse and download the press releases below. They are provided in PDF format. If you are unable to view these files, please download the free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader.
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23 July 2008 - Vice Chancellor's statements misleading
Students are calling Auckland University Vice Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon to account for his misleading statements regarding the Government’s interest in the introduction of a universal student allowance. “Students are the key stakeholders of the tertiary sector, and it is deeply unfortunate that Stuart McCutcheon has positioned himself against an initiative that would improve an unfair and unsustainable student loan scheme”, says New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) Co-President Liz Hawes. |
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21 July 2008 - Women only scholarships still justified
Women student representatives are urging caution in questioning the relevance of women-only scholarships, and are highlighting their ongoing need. “Women-only scholarships are the provision of financial support. Such scholarships pose no threat to others’ participation, yet they do make a positive difference to the recipients, just as with any other scholarship,” said Analiese Jackson, National Women’s Rights Officer of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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18 July 2008 - Universal student allowance welcomed
Students throughout the country are delighted to see government interest in the introduction of a universal student allowance and eagerly await its implementation. “A universal student allowance is an extremely positive and sensible move which benefits all New Zealanders. Tertiary education is an investment in our country, training people for the skills and leadership we require for the future,” said Liz Hawes, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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04 July 2008 - Universal Student Allowance - Smart Banking
This 4th July student leaders are converging on Auckland city for a national conference on tertiary education issues and the launch of a fresh new campaign promoting independence from debt by increasing access to student support.
“As the general election draws nearer we’re making it clear that our top priority is to strike a blow to the failed experiment that is the student loan scheme with the introduction of a universal student allowance,” said Paul Falloon, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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22 May 2008 - Budget tinkering, students still sinking
Today’s Budget announcements are a mixed bag for students, promising some relief for a lucky few, but overall will do little to fix the vast problems facing the majority of students and New Zealand’s growing student debt problem.
“This Budget shows no forward thinking or meaningful change in policy development and is virtually maintaining the inadequate status quo. The most significant development has come from a minor party's agreement and is not the motivation of Labour itself, which leaves very little hope for longer term progress on student support,” said Paul Falloon, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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09 April 2008 - $10b student debt – a millstone, not milestone
Students and graduates around New Zealand will be marking collective student debt reaching an astonishing $10billion tomorrow with events and protests highlighting the inequity of the student loan scheme and the unsustainability of a debt-laden generation.
“Family formation, home ownership, business start-up and retirement savings are all widely known to be severely negatively affected by student debt. Add to that the contribution of this debt to New Zealand’s increasing ‘brain drain’ and you have a recipe for disaster,” said Liz Hawes, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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02 April 2008 - Paltry CPI adjustments just don’t cut it
Students are extremely disappointed at this week’s paltry Consumer Price Index increases to student allowances and are labelling Government claims that these increases reflect support for vulnerable communities as insulting.
“We know that access to student allowances is extremely restricted and that allowance levels do not begin to cover today’s high cost of living. Students have been looking to Government for leadership on this issue, and instead they get automatic annual adjustments sold off as Government initiatives. It’s insulting,” said Paul Falloon, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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31 Mar 2008 - NZUSA welcomes UCOL students
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) warmly welcomes its newest members, The Association of Students’ at UCOL (AS@U), to the national representative body for tertiary students.
“NZUSA is very pleased to welcome UCOL students. The presence of AS@U in the national body will for the first time ensure that polytechnic students in Palmerston North, Wanganui and Wairarapa have a national voice,” said Paul Falloon, NZUSA Co-President.
Students at a General Meeting of AS@U today voted resoundingly in favour of joining NZUSA, with membership taking effect immediately.
“Our students have shown they value national representation and the importance of collective action on issues facing students. NZUSA is a relevant and effective organization and we are excited to be able to participate this year in the national campaign for a universal living allowance,” said Jo Hymers, President of the AS@U. |
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13 March 2008 - Attack on the Arts – who will be next?
Students are outraged at moves to shut down Film Studies and American Studies programmes at two New Zealand universities and are calling for this ill-considered attack on the Arts to be abandoned. The University of Canterbury proposes to remove both Film Studies and American Studies, while Victoria University plans to close Film Studies in its current form.
“We have grave concerns over the lack of process and transparency surrounding these proposals, and believe they are incredibly short-sighted and unjustifiable. They are an ominous sign of things to come – we’re left wondering who will be targeted next” said Liz Hawes, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA).
The proposed closures were sprung on staff and students with no warning and little forethought, showing scant regard for stakeholder engagement. |
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29 Feb 2008 - Government report highlights growing debt & lack o
Students are urging the government to take heed of the depressing statistics revealed in Student Loans and Allowances: 2006, the third report in recent weeks highlighting growing student debt and the lack of access to student allowances.
The report identified that in 2006 the number of students receiving an allowance and not having to rely on a student loan actually fell by 10%. In the same year, the student loan scheme saw the highest number of borrowers and the largest increase in loan borrowing, since 2001.
“The fact that the biggest proportion of borrowers dependent on debt was aged 20-25 years clearly shows that means-testing students on parental income until the age of 25 to determine allowance eligibility is deeply flawed and discriminatory,” said Liz Hawes, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations. |
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25 February 2008 - Maxed out students need a fairer deal from ba
Tertiary students and bank staff are calling on banks to rethink their service to students in response to data that shows growing student reliance on credit cards and other bank debt.
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) and bank workers’ union Finsec are joining forces to try and keep students out of high-interest debt. The amount students owe on credit cards has increased by 32% since 2004, according to the NZUSA Income and Expenditure Survey. Credit card debt has increased at a higher rate than low to no interest overdrafts.
“It’s Orientation season and the campuses are crawling with banks trying to attract student accounts,” said Paul Falloon, NZUSA Co-President. “We want banks to value their student customers by easing penalties for default payments and offering no interest overdrafts and loans as last resorts.” |
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21 February 2008 - Can students really trust Labour to deliver?
Students are questioning Labour’s track record on accessibility and affordability in education, following Minister for Tertiary Education Pete Hodgson’s recent statement during a visit to Otago University for Orientation.
During his address to Otago students, Mr Hodgson boldly claimed students could “trust a Labour-led government to keep making improvements in the quality, accessibility and affordability of tertiary education.” He listed among the government’s achievements stabilisation of student fees and improved allowance eligibility.
“It is highly ironic and deeply concerning that Mr Hodgson chose limited access to allowances and rising fees to illustrate Labour’s commitment to students, as this is precisely where Labour has failed most miserably,” said Paul Falloon, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations. |
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31-Jan-2008 - National’s loan policy for the rich
Students have welcomed the National Party recognising that the nearly ten billion dollars of student debt is having a wide social and economic impact on New Zealanders but warn that their loans policy will only benefit a privileged few.
“National’s policy offers little for the vast majority of graduates who simply can’t afford to make more than the already significant compulsory repayments on their loans. National’s policy seems aimed at boosting government surpluses and benefiting the rich rather than addressing the impact that debt is having on struggling graduates”, says Liz Hawes, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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30-Jan-2008 - Students back National’s call for free education
Students have welcomed the National Party recognising that fully funded public education is required to ensure quality and accessibility.
“Free education is the cornerstone of an inclusive, tolerant and productive society. Anything less than a future-looking scheme, where cost is a penalty, will not deal with the fundamental causes of youth underachievement”, says Liz Hawes, Co-President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). |
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24-Jan-2008 - New research shows massive
Average student debt[1] has risen by 54 percent since 2004 and is now $28,838 according to major new research released today by the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA).
Other main findings of the research are:
- Average student debt is over 147 percent higher than in 1998
- Students are looking beyond the student loan scheme, to bank loans, overdrafts, and credit cards to pay for essential living costs
- Core living costs (food, accommodation, transport) have increased significantly
- 88 percent of students consider that student loans will impact on their ability to buy a house. |
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living allowances
NZUSA’s campaign for the government to immediately introduce a living allowance for all full-time students is intensifying in 2006. more...
fees
The student movement has focused a significant amount of it's activism and campaigning on fees following the fourth Labour Government's introduction of a $1250 flat tutition fee in 1990. more...
thursdays in black
Every Thursday people around the world are invited to wear black as a symbol of strength and courage, representing our solidarity with victims of violence, demanding a world without rape and violence. more..
public funding
The result of funding cuts in our tertiary sector over the last 25 years, and the imposition of a competitive market in public tertiary education, has led to the emergence of and continued increase in tuition fees. The more students are asked to fork out to pay fees to fund our public tertiary education, the more our tertiary system essentially becomes privatised. more...
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