From the Archives: Gyro's Dummies student guide to voting

Gyro has endeavoured to ensure all policies are correct at the time of writing, but announcements are being made daily so check each parties website...

In case you’ve missed it, this year is an election year for New Zealand. This is our chance to make politicians have a think about the importance of education — and how we feel about that looming debt monster...
There are many things to consider when voting; certainly many graduates and students will be thinking about education policy (or at least their debts). You might want to get your family and friends to consider this as well — since student debt may truly be a lifetime of debt for many of you and your children.

LABOUR www.labour.org.nz
PASS: C  “Has shown great promise in the past, have been a bit slow, but could do ok”
Fees — Labour have certainly slowed National’s spiralling fee increases of the ’90s, but Labour will not lower fees as they once promised to do. Fees will remain capped with a structured 5% yearly increase.
Allowances — BREAKING NEWS: Labour have announced universal student allowances within 3 years.
Debt — Big ups to Labour for removing interest on student debt. This is a great start. Interest was highly unfair and meant that many low-income graduates paid more for their education than high-income graduates.
Summary — Labour ended the wild spiralling fees of the ’90s and knocked the interest off debt. Labour have been slow in attacking the things that create debt, but have at least made a start Gyro Rating: 5.5/10


NATIONAL www.national.org.nz
FAIL: F  “Looks like a slight improvement, but that’s not saying much”
Fees — No policy available at time of writing — in the past fees increased an average of 12% per year under National in the ‘90s. There’s no reason to believe National feel any differently.
Allowances — No policy available at time of writing.  National introduced “means-testing” on student allowances (i.e. your allowance depends on your parents’ income until you’re 25 years old), and have shown no sign of wanting to change this.
Debt — National introduced the student debt scheme. They claim lower taxes will help graduates to pay debt. National’s policy is to keep student loans interest-free. They also plan to introduce a 10% bonus on repayments for people who can afford to repay their student loans quickly (i.e. on high incomes). And a bonding scheme for some health professionals who work in New Zealand.
Summary — “Neo-liberalism” is National’s central idea; this means tax-cuts. However, while tax-cuts might give you a few more bucks to pay your debt with, it also means your debt will be bigger in the first place (because tax-cuts = less government investment in education, meaning it’ll probably cost you more). Gyro Rating: 1.5/10


GREENS www.greens.org.nz
PASS: B+  “Some good potential here, and reasonable commitment”
Fees — Greens will cap and then progressively reduce fees; eventually to zero.
Allowances — Greens will progressively introduce a full allowance for all full-time students, as well as a summer allowance and other forms of student support (e.g. cheap buses).
Debt — The Greens have a debt write-off scheme with aspects of bonding (e.g. some of your debt is written-off for each year you spend in NZ). They will also raise the rate of income where you have to start repaying your debt.
Summary — The Greens have already tried to introduce some of their education policy, but they don’t have enough MPs in the house at the moment. Gyro Rating: 7.5/10

MAORI PARTY www.maoriparty.com
PASS: A-  “Surprise performer. Keep it up”
Fees — The Maori Party believes matauranga (education) is a taonga and should be free for all as a right under the Treaty.  Phase out student loan scheme by introducing a fee reduction policy, reducing fees to a nominal level.
Allowances — Universal living allowances for all full-time students.
Debt — No interest on loans. Limit debt repayment to 10% of income when earning more than one and a half times the average wage; and 5 year grace period on repayments after graduation.
Summary — Their education policy seems very good for students and graduates. There is the concern they could put National into power, though if National is in government it might be good to have someone seemingly education-friendly keeping control of their reforms. Gyro Rating: 8/10

UNITED FUTURE www.unitedfuture.org.nz
FAIL: D+  “Has some promise, but some actual effort required to pass”
Fees — No specific policy available — but they’ve done nothing to suggest they are unhappy with the idea of fees or indeed with the current rates.
Allowances — United Future have always believed every full-time tertiary student over the age of 18 should be entitled to a universal student allowance. United Future also believe in increasing the accommodation supplement to help cover students’ cost of living.
Debt — Raise the rate of income where you have to start repaying your loan to the minimum wage. Plus some relief for students in skill shortage occupations (bonding); and partial debt write-off for caregivers of children.
Summary — Some good ideas to soften the blow of debt, but how much have they pushed Labour to implement these? And how do they propose to pay for Universal Allowances if they’re also planning on cutting taxes further? Gyro Rating: 4.5/10

ALLIANCE www.alliance.org.nz   
PASS: A+  “Top of class. Shame they’re currently expelled”
Fees — Alliance believes education should be free, as it was in the 1980s.
Allowances — Alliance believes that students shouldn’t be forced to borrow simply to eat, and will introduce universal allowances for all full-time students.
Debt — Alliance would immediately write off all existing student debt.
Summary — Alliance has always advocated free education, and has a plan for how it should be paid for (i.e., fair taxes). Gyro Rating: 9/10


NEW ZEALAND FIRST www.nzfirst.org.nz 
FAIL: D  “Some vague promise, but need to put a lot more effort in”
Fees — No policy available at time of writing; presumably happy with current levels. May lower fees for targeted courses where we need more graduates (e.g. science and technology).
Allowances — NZ First wants to work towards universal allowances over three years; and reintroduce a summer allowance.
Debt — Reintroduce interest on debt, at inflation plus 2%.
Summary — Also has plans to introduce scholarships, and provide for a differential funding regime for provincial polytechnics. NZ First may well be in a position to bully a coalition partner to adopt their policies; but when they were in power with National they pretty much went along with National’s devastating reforms — so while they have some OK policies, how committed are they to education? Gyro Rating: 3.5/10

ACT www.act.org.nz
FAIL: No grade “No redeeming features, not even singing and dancing will save this class clown”
Fees — Will be the responsibility of each institution to set. Currently institutions are limited to a 5% fee increase per year; under Act they could charge what they liked (and would have to, as Act would also likely slash funding to them).
Allowances — Probably only for “deserving poor” people. And they should be grateful by worshipping an autographed copy of Rodney Hide’s picture each morning.
Debt — Act’s theory is that if taxes are lowered you will have a little more money to repay your debt with. But of course you’ll also need this money to pay for your healthcare, save for retirement, road tolls, and a host of other things that are currently free or subsidised by the government.
Summary — Act firmly believes in the less tax and less government provided services idea. They see education as a private good and would charge you for it accordingly. This means the current government fee subsidy of around 75% would be lowered — forcing your fees to go up... Gyro Rating: 0/10


PROGRESSIVE PARTY www.progressive.org.nz
PASS: B-  “Has good promise, but needs to put the effort in”
Fees — Lower fees, with an ultimate goal of zero fees.
Allowances — Universal living allowances for students.
Debt — Bonding, i.e. for each year a graduate works in NZ a year of debt is wiped.
Summary — Some great ideas, but how much have they pushed Labour to implement? Gyro Rating: 7/10