It’s true, but I’d like to see what other system he proposes to distribute scarce resources in a fair manner without waste.
As it is our student loan scheme is fuelling far too many diploma mills teaching courses of dubious value to students who should be doing something else.
there are some pretty sketchy course out there (particularly for early school leavers ) that seem to be a rort to hoover up less astute peoples loan entitlements
the “retail” course are the worst, you can end up in SERIOUS debt learning the arcane arts of working in shop !
Uruguay provides free education through to post grad level and a free laptop for every child in primary education and is rolling out the same for ALL students currently
Population of about 4 million, ——NZ about 4.5 million
I would say given their current level of development, that such a policy for Uruguay is sensible – education will be a primary way to lift the productivity of their country. NZ isn’t in the same position.
Also comparing total country population isn’t as important as comparing the number of students taking up these offers, or the types of education being offered, and if you want to get really detailed, the quality of the education (best measured by international ratings of universities and/or achievements of university professors).
what do you consider Uruguays current level of development Lanth
I own a small property there, have spent a lot time there both rural and urban and consider it many ways more developed than NZ ( in the areas in i consider important to be fair)
I would say given their current level of development, that such a policy for Uruguay is sensible – education will be a primary way to lift the productivity of their country. NZ isn’t in the same position.
Actually, NZ is in the same position. Due to not doing the investment to develop our economy needed over the last thirty years and giving that money to the rich instead we have increasing poverty and and an economy overly dependent upon a single sector.
Then we throw in the fact that the low hanging fruit in science and development has gone we actually need more students to work cooperatively to push ever more innovation.
Brazil does as well, and pays generous university scholarships. The only problem there is that the public schools, which the poor go to, are so bad that the privately schooled rich are far more likely to pass the tertiary entry exams. Hence most of the tertiary budget goes to kids who don’t need it. Friends of mine are trying to change this by preparing poorer kids better for the entrance exams.
I’d favour a system where university was basically free, and with useful scholarships for those who deserved them, but with more stringent entry requirements than at present. This could easily be paid for by a slightly higher tax rate on those who have already gone through university, such as myself and Paula Bennett. Alternatively, graduates could be bonded to perform community tasks for a couple of years after graduating. Once enough people realise education is not a commodity to be sold to individuals, just like a massage or a packet of biscuits, we’ll find a way.
“Are there any other education models overseas that we could perhaps emulate?”
“Bonding” is another alternative for occupations that provide public essential services: doctors, nurses, teachers, etc.
Personal example: In return for a free education you agree to spend 4 years working in a designated area of extreme need (rural or poor area). We had a lovely doctor and his young family serve in our rural town. 20 years later they are still there. They decided it was a much better lifestyle than working 60 hours a week in a flash suburb trying to retire the huge debt a medical education requires.
Sadly, they don’t read, full stop. Lanthanide wouldn’t have expressed his bewilderment like he did if he had bothered to read some of Chomsky’s voluminous writing about education.
“students who should be doing something else” – what precisely? Emigration? Crime? There are not so many jobs around these days for those without any formal education. Apprenticeships are rare, and polytechs are being squeezed, so many end up at private institutes that milk them for all they can get.
Languishing on a benefit isn’t socially beneficial, but has better income than study and doesn’t have to be repaid. OAB links show ways in which scarce resources have been put into furthering education for collective good (in Germany & Finland – I think Denmark also has no fees/ loans). The NZ politicians who instituted the high fee/ loan system (Goff & Smith in their forefront) had their own educations paid for by the state at a time when the country was monetarily poorer.
““students who should be doing something else” – what precisely? Emigration? Crime? There are not so many jobs around these days for those without any formal education. Apprenticeships are rare, and polytechs are being squeezed, so many end up at private institutes that milk them for all they can get.”
There should be more jobs, more apprenticeships, better funded and more polytech courses.
At no point am I blaming the students, who are the victims of these diploma mills. I simply said they should be doing something else.
“Languishing on a benefit isn’t socially beneficial, but has better income than study and doesn’t have to be repaid. ”
Going to a diploma mill, getting a student loan and then ending up in a crappy dead-end / low-wage job, or no job at all, isn’t much better.
It’s true, but I’d like to see what other system he proposes to distribute scarce resources in a fair manner without waste.
What the hell, Lanth. What “scarce resources” are you talking about here. What “waste” are you talking about here?
Are children hungry in NZ because there is a “scarcity” of food? Are pensioners in NZ cold because there is a “scarcity” of power? Are hospitals and schools understaffed because of a “scarcity” of nurses and teachers? Get a grip.
What Chomsky is pointing to is a bloody simple idea: the economic system is currently set up as a system of social control and rationing. High controls and strict rationing on the bottom 90% of society. Absolutely minimal controls and rationing on the top 10% of society (but especially the top 0.1%).
FFS man, can you not see the real “waste” which is happening day to day is letting Kiwis rot in a toxic mix of idleness and ignorance?
“What the hell, Lanth. What “scarce resources” are you talking about here. What “waste” are you talking about here?”
I was talking very generally about market-based economies, where the market puts prices on goods and services, which acts as a self-balancing system to minimise waste. Nothing more.
In this particular case, making education completely free leads to waste in the form of people doing study that doesn’t benefit themselves or society at large, hence my further statement that we already have too many diploma mills in this country.
I think you’ll find that there’s more actual waste in the level of unemployment – a level of unemployment that economists say is normal for market based economies. Even education that doesn’t seem to benefit society benefits society as it increases critical thinking levels. And free education means that those people could always go off and get one of those useful degrees later.
I was talking very generally about market-based economies, where the market puts prices on goods and services, which acts as a self-balancing system to minimise waste. Nothing more.
Why don’t you check out your nearest council landfill Lanth, to see how deeply mistaken you are.
In this particular case, making education completely free leads to waste in the form of people doing study that doesn’t benefit themselves or society at large, hence my further statement that we already have too many diploma mills in this country.
Bullshit. The level of fees charged for education have NOTHING to do with the poor design and quality of some tertiary offerings. That’s down to the lack of judgement, purpose, public service values and vision of the supposedly experienced senior management and PhD qualified heads of those “educational institutions.”
And its down to the corporatisation of education: where the only subject areas valued are the ones which help commercial enterprises make more money.
“Why don’t you check out your nearest council landfill Lanth, to see how deeply mistaken you are.”
Hmm, that is a good point. Certainly the profit margin drives companies to make products with built-in obsolescence, which can only be seen as ‘waste’ in the grand scheme of things. I guess that’s a large part of the contribution for why we aren’t all working 10-15 hours a week with lots of leisure time: if the products we bought actually lasted as long as they could/should, we’d have less need of money and less need to work, as well as less work needing to be done.
But in general it is true. For example, in winter, the supply of summer vegetables goes down, pushing the prices up, reducing demand and ensuring that production of winter vegetables is favoured, reducing mis-allocation of resources on summer vegetable crops, etc.
“And its down to the corporatisation of education: where the only subject areas valued are the ones which help commercial enterprises make more money.”
I don’t really have a problem with fine arts degrees, or BAs etc.
My beef is with the private education providers, of which there are huge numbers, who promise things like great careers in IT if you just go study with them… who place you in a call-centre tech support job for an ISP.
Your case by case reasoning is excellent Lanth, but your general case reasoning is highly suspect. I think that is a function of you applying orthodox economic decision making frameworks to areas they are not valid for i.e. 90% of society.
Er, no, education is not “free”, it’s just that the state pays for it.
The difference between “free education” and what we have now, is that you eventually have to pay for the cost of the education yourself, but on an interest-free term (unless you leave the country).
This simply means that instead of going to a diploma mill, getting a crappy bit of paper and a $5k loan, you’d go to the diploma mill and get a crappy bit of paper.
Nope. Then the government would be paying money to the diploma mill. At the moment they are lending it to the students. What they lend out, they get back.
And thanks for telling me that free education is paid by our taxes.
Prior to the neoliberal “reforms” of the ’80s and ’90s, higher education in NZ was free. We hardly need another system.
To answer your question though, Noam Chomsky has been an anarchist his whole life. An explanation of anarchism or communism would be beyond the scope of this discussion, but you can read some of Chomsky’s thoughts on anarchism and student debt here.
You also probably get less innovation and entrepreneurship because you are coming out of Tech or Uni already saddled with debt and staring down the barrell of an enormous mortgage to get onto the property ladder. The Atlantic Monthly recently ran an article here http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/the-disruption-myth/379348/2/ about the slowing pace of innovative disruption and the establishment of new businesses in the US. Gee, do you think a $100,000 debt for your degree might be a factor??
Unnecessary education – demanded by employers and government scourges you to get it. Students are suffering from what they call credential-inflation. How to cut this out? Break through that system of requiring students to have full skills before you hire them. Encourage employers to train staff on the job. And then encourage them in a system where you work your way up, get seniority and better pay. That implies that employers want to keep staff on of course. But at present most want to be able to go to the shelf and pick up a barbie or ken doll, wind it up and put it on the shop floor smiles, arms and legs all working perfectly.
So they demand students spend their own money on the perhaps of getting a job for which they may apply numerous times and never even get the courtesy of a photocopied acknowledgment with their name written in the square at the top.
Employers and the whole shonky right wing approach has whipped away. employment, Also the loss of jobs providing jobs that led on to other jobs for NZ that would give us a healthy economy.
Education is now the Land of Oz where you go and pay for magic employment dust which you try to spread around, sometimes successfully. Lecturers noticed once the fees became a major expense, students limited what they wanted to learn to ensure they could pass their papers. The passing was important, the cost was a burden. Not getting a higher education. And for government education gets you off the unemployment statistics, that it must keep at a certain level on the OECD list of countries they are helping to do over, I mean renovate.
We’ve had The Age of Enlightenment which apparently ended at the start of the 1800s. So do we have the De-Enlightenment now.? The Age of Murky Darkness or The New Dark Ages with the religion of money defining everything? Why don’t we continue with the old enlightened ideas now? What is so wrong with following the prescription?
The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age of Reason) was a cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in late 17th-century Western Europe emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.[1] It spread across Europe and to the United States, continuing to the end of the 18th century. Its purpose was to reform society using reason, to challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and to advance knowledge through the scientific method. It promoted scientific thought, skepticism, and intellectual interchange.[2] The Enlightenment was a revolution in human thought. This new way of thinking was that rational thought begins with clearly stated principles, uses correct logic to arrive at conclusions, tests the conclusions against evidence, and then revises the principles in the light of the evidence. wikipedia.
edited.
As the countries that aren’t infested with right wing education policy continue to leave us behind, and get all the best investment opportunities, the policy will fail and fail and fail, while wingnuts wail and wail and wail, and cling even harder to their failure.
Noam Chomsky has hit the education nail on the head….and Cuba is a case in point ( the true story you never heard from the USA):
For a long time Cuba has been one of the leading countries as regards education in Central and South America…due to widely available , affordable/free high quality state education
“Following the 1959 revolution, the Castro government nationalized all educational institutions, and created a system operated entirely by the government…..
Education expenditures continue to receive high priority, as Cuba spends 10 percent of its central budget on education, compared with 4 percent in the United Kingdom and just 2 percent in the United States, according to UNESCO.[6]…
In 1995, the literacy rate was 96%. This was second after Argentina of thirteen Latin American countries surveyed…
Cuba has 47 universities and total university enrollment is approximately 112,000 citizens….All higher education institutions are public.
Cuba is a world leader in the education and training of doctors…it turns out many , many doctors. As the Michael Moore documentary on USA health System ‘SICKO’ graphically and ironically pointed out Cuban public health care is vastly superior to that in USA..
In fact the Cubans even train doctors who cant afford to be trained in their own countries….”In 1999 a program was implemented to attract students to study medicine in Cuba from less privileged backgrounds in the United States, Britain and Latin American, Caribbean, and African nations.[27] Cuba currently hosts 3432 medical students from 23 nations studying in Havana.[28]
However, Cuba has also provided state subsidized education to foreign nationals under specific programs, including U.S. students who are trained as doctors at the Latin American School of Medicine. The program provides for full scholarships, including accommodation, and its graduates are meant to return to the US to offer low-cost healthcare.”…
I spent 3 months in Cuba 2 years ago. I stayed with a local family who make jokes about Michael Moore’s docos – it was apparently filmed in a “dollar hospital” which is for foreigners or the communist elite. Sure, there are lots of doctors, but drugs are hard to come by and unaffordable for the majority that try to get by on the average Cuban wage (about $30 USD a month). Almost everyone I met dealt on the black market just to get by and I met very few people who had anything positive to say about the Cuban Government.
well as you probably know Cuba has been under an economic embargo by the USA for years …so you can hardly blame Cuba for the lack of medicines or standard of living…considering the effects of this embargo on a small country it is amazing Cuba has survived at all
There are two parts to the student debt. Course university fees then the living allowance loans of about $150 per week which is claimed by those who are not living at home. The latter are the crunch items which raise the total to huge heights.
free broad humanities (philosophy, history, languages, arts, classics etc) based undergrad degree first then specialise into higher levels once you have learned to think widely and understand historical and cultural perspectives.
Loans and debt aside, when university students are almost entirely from the middle class, their world views are never seriously challenged, and so conservatism/orthodoxy deepens at an intergenerational level.
It’s no coincidence that student based activism spiked in the 60s when a fair proportion of students were from working class backgrounds. The prospect of debt and an inability to access ‘lifeboat funds’ from parents when going through University, more or less excludes the working class these days.
+100 Bill…and the cost of tertiary education and the difficulty in finding jobs and paying back loans for university education …..also channels students into strictly vocational degrees
…again less time for thinking and reading and researching and learning and critical thinking about deep philosophical , psychological, political, social , religious and historical issues
….university education is being undermined from within as well as from without
…university education is becoming training for a professional vocation rather than the education of the whole person…and society as well as the individual is the loser
“when university students are almost entirely from the middle class, their world views are never seriously challenged, and so conservatism/orthodoxy deepens at an intergenerational level.”
Yup. From personal experience, I’ll agree with you there Bill. My unconventional academic path has led me to ‘surprise’ fellow students and mentors with the way I understand how societal structures are perceived and operate compared with the way they treat societal structures as uncontested best practice that people must fit into
Bill, not sure about your assertion that university students were more representative of working class backgrounds (in NZ?) than these days.
Small sample etc etc but in 1969 NZ History tutorial of some 15 students, asked about our class origins, all but one were middle class. We believed then that university was the prerogative of the middle class.
Have you some research to indicate otherwise?
We middle class students of the late sixties sure knew about student activism though- Harewood bases, Omega, Vietnam, Peace Power and Politics in Asia, student representation at Uni. I’m the son of a grocer- “petit bourgeois” was my answer to the question. I spent very little time studying in 1968 failing all but one of my units, but spent a lot of time challenging the values of the day.
My sense is that more working class folk are getting to Uni as numbers increase and more degrees as a percentage are awarded to attendees, or are working class numbers diminishing? Could be wrong though.
That’s the way you keep societies efficient and healthy from the point of view of the corporations. And as universities move towards a corporate business model, precarity is exactly what is being imposed. And we’ll see more and more of it.
And we see it here as well as National make more corporatechanges to our universities.
David Harvey makes the same point as Chomsky , but about mortgages. people with mortgages don’t srrike. they also tend to develop certain attitudes like cynical detachment.. having no considerable assets and being Christian have a complementary effect on me – both things free me up to be experimental with my life. currently I’m doing business and I feel totally free to charge people what I think is fair, instead of maxing out my fees according to market rates, which in my line of work are desperately, corrosively cynical. so, that’s a wonderful liberty that I have. also, following Christ requires you to be a bit cavalier about conventional wisdom. like eagleton says, if it doesn’t get you killed it appears that you have some explaining to do. on the path of radical integrity are deep suffering and profound peace.
They dress up with a partial conscience when they think it may benefit them – couldn’t bring myself to vote for them this election and I’ve been left my whole life.
Student debt made the Herald last weekend.
Verity Johnson writes..
“Students are increasingly worried about money. Not, “how many boxes of wine can I buy with all the change under the sofa?” But, “how will my degree get me a stable future career that repays my gaping debts?” This manifests itself in the serious, grey and practical pall that has settled over us students. I don’t blame us students. The message behind universities has changed historically.
Once, uni was about knowledge. Now we’re told to pick sensible degrees that will get us a sensible job with a sensible salary.
University is supposed to be about stretching your mind. This model makes it about your stretched pocket.”
The following are 18 sobering facts about the unprecedented student loan debt crisis in the United States…
#1 According to the Wall Street Journal, the class of 2014 is “the most indebted ever“…http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/congatulations-to-class-of-2014-the-most-indebted-ever-1368/
#2 In 1994, less than half of all college graduates left school with student loan debt. Today, it is over 70 percent.
#3 Approximately 15 percent of graduate and professional school students leave school with student loan debt balances in the six figures.
#4 At this point, student loan debt has hit a grand total of 1.2 trillion dollars in the United States. That number has grown by about 84 percent just since 2008.
#5 According to the Pew Research Center, nearly four out of every ten U.S. households that are led by someone under the age of 40 is paying off student loan debt right now.
#6 The median net worth of young households that have student loan debt is 20 percent lower than the median net worth of young households that do not have any student loan debt and that are led by someone with only a high school education.
#7 Among college educated people, the median net worth of young households that do not have student loan debt is seven times higher than the median net worth of young households that do have student loan debt.
#8 In 2008, approximately 29 million Americans were paying off student loan debts. Today, that number has ballooned to 40 million.
#9 Since 2005, student loan debt burdens have absolutely exploded while salaries for young college graduates have actually declined…
#10 According to CNN, 260,000 Americans with a college or professional degree made at or below the federal minimum wage last year.
#11 Even after accounting for inflation, the cost of college tuition increased by 275 percent between 1970 and 2013.
#12 Debt for law school students has risen dramatically over the past decade or s
#13 Last year it was being reported that 34.9 percent of all student loan borrowers under the age of 30 are at least 90 days behind on their student loan payments.
“Labour did nothing and crushed the one party that was prepared to make Tertiary Education free…..the Mana/Internet Party”
Actually, that comment, made me get off my lazy arse and do just a little research.
Yeah, gutting, old Roger Me Now Nomics helped put the wedge in a while back, then down track, labour removed the interest on student loans. National introduced EFTs system and has been quielty removing funding from Universities since (are they not dropping in rankings?). So, changes were made to fund the increased projections of students entering Universities. But I really do not trust any of the powers that be, that further changes (taxes) will eventually turn up.
That aside, here as some good links (which informed me from both sides of the fence): Again, however, we do seem to be following the USA and GB, and their projections are not looking pretty.
2. It was National that introduced the “bums on seats” funding model, in which universities were funded based on the number of equivalent full-time students (EFTS) enrolled.
Throughout National’s nine years in power, government funding of the tertiary education sector steadily decreased. Universities resorted to rising student fees to cover deficits, a trend that still persists at universities across the country. The election of Labour in 1999 did not stem the tide of changes to the way tertiary education is funded in this country.
( a good summary of Universities and costs up to 2009). Aside it was National who did not want to touch the topic of taxing students… political expedience only… not love.
4. Heres the biggest for last (but remember, there is no mention of DOL studies and if people end up in their intended field etc). As with many stats, there are positives and Negatives:
The Student Loans Scheme Annual Report 2013 provides information on the scheme and those who borrowed from it in 2012, as well as the financial schedules for the year to 30 June 2013. The information in the report aligns with the outcomes framework developed by the agencies that manage and administer the scheme. Key findings in the report are:
The nominal value of loan balances was $13,562 million as at 30 June 2013.
201,187 students borrowed from the loan scheme in 2012 (73 percent of eligible students).
As at 30 June 2013, 710,000 people had a student loan with Inland Revenue.
The median repayment time for those who left study in 2009 and remained in New Zealand was 6.7 years.
Author(s): Ministry of Education.
Date Published: December 2013
Please consider the environment before printing the contents of this report.
This report is available as a download (please refer to the ‘Downloads/Links’ inset box, top right). This inset box also has links to related publications and information that may be of interest. Please consider the environment before printing.
Highlights
Student Loan Scheme portfolio
As at 30 June 2013:
The nominal value of loan balances was $13,562 million. (Refer to chapter 4.0.)
The carrying value of the loan scheme – calculated using International Financing Reporting Standards – was $8,288 million. (Refer to chapter 4.0.)
The carrying value ratio increased from 63.9 percent of the nominal value to 61.1 percent of the nominal value ratio. (Refer to chapter 4.1.)
The fair value of the loan scheme was approximately $8,298 million. (Refer to chapter 4.0.)
The cost of lending is forecast to increase to 40 cents per dollar for the period 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2013. It is forecast to increase to 42 cents for each dollar lent by 2016/17. (Refer to chapter 4.2)
710,968 people had a student loan with Inland Revenue for collection. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
Since the loan scheme began:
Students have borrowed a total of $18,520 million. (Refer to chapter 3.1.)
$8,125 million has been collected in loan repayments. (Refer to chapter 3.3.)
More than 374,000 loans have been fully repaid. (Refer to chapter 3.3.)
During 2012/13:
$1,150.7 million in loan repayments was received by Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development, $274.2 million more than last year. (Refer to chapter 5.3)
Outcomes
Research shows that people with tertiary qualifications have lower unemployment, higher incomes and increased wellbeing. (Refer to chapter 2.2.)
The number of domestic students in tertiary education in 2012 was 375,000 compared with 245,000, the number enrolled in 1994. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
The participation rate for Māori of all ages was 14.6 percent in 2012, down from 15.1 percent in 2011. The participation rate of Pasifika students in 2012 was 11.4 percent, down from 11.5 percent in 2011. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
The total number of qualifications completed in 2012 was 143,000 by 126,000 domestic students, an increase of 2.7 percent from 2011. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
The total number of qualifications completed in the New Zealand tertiary system in 2012 was 162,000. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
About borrowing in 2012
201,187 students (73 percent of eligible students) borrowed from the loan scheme. (Refer to chapter 3.1)
Of these 54,836 were new borrowers (based on provisional Ministry of Social Development data), representing 27 percent of all borrowers. (Refer to chapter 3.1.)
The average amount borrowed was $7,822 and the median amount borrowed was $6,9889. (Refer to chapter 3.1.)
Borrowers
Between 1997 and 2012:
57 percent were female. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
48 percent were European, 22 percent were Māori, 12 percent were Asian and 9 percent were Pasifika. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
47 percent had studied at non-degree level, 35 percent at bachelors level and 9 percent at postgraduate level. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
As at 30 June 2013:
The average loan held by Inland Revenue was $19,076 and the median loan balance was $13,307. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
57 percent of repayments were collected through the PAYE tax system in the 2012/13 tax year. (Refer to chapter 3.3.)
Repayment times
The median repayment time for those who finished study in 2003 was 7.2 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
The median repayment time for those who finished study in 2006 is expected to be 7.5 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
The median repayment time for those who finished study in 2009 is expected to by 7.3 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
The median repayment time for those who left study in 2009 and remained in New Zealand was 6.7 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
4.
Watching my daughters do exactly as Chomsky predicts, through sheer exhaustion (though they did come out and sign wave for Labour, and did hold hope for a while before the election):
-trying to work (in ever more scarce part time jobs) around impossible timetables, not announced until the last minute
-studying with increasing sense of detachment from reality by universities having to assume “corporate” competitive models
-educational inflation means they have to do masters, so studying goes on…and on… and costs more and more….
And then the job market is so tight you need contacts to get a foot in the door, if we are honest, so how to pay off student debt, they can’t afford to work overseas as the debt increases even more.
The logical conclusion to this? Only the rich (but not necessarily the bright and motivated) will have a decent education…hey just like the old days!!
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
It’s true, but I’d like to see what other system he proposes to distribute scarce resources in a fair manner without waste.
As it is our student loan scheme is fuelling far too many diploma mills teaching courses of dubious value to students who should be doing something else.
+1 to this
there are some pretty sketchy course out there (particularly for early school leavers ) that seem to be a rort to hoover up less astute peoples loan entitlements
the “retail” course are the worst, you can end up in SERIOUS debt learning the arcane arts of working in shop !
Are there any other education models overseas that we could perhaps emulate?
Uruguay provides free education through to post grad level and a free laptop for every child in primary education and is rolling out the same for ALL students currently
Population of about 4 million, ——NZ about 4.5 million
GDP 59.201 billion , ——– NZ 181.3 billion
Per capita $17,121 , ——— NZ Per capita $40,481
hmmmm
Per capita $17,121 , ——— NZ Per capita $40,481.
Woo hoo, in your face Uruguay! Go All Blacks! No, wait…
Refer the famous photo of President Mujica of Uruguay, quietly waiting his turn for treatment in A&E.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BrTDyJZCYAAJjvm.jpg:medium
I would go gay for Jose !!
2 years living at the bottom of a well for your beliefs must give you some SERIOUS focus !
I would say given their current level of development, that such a policy for Uruguay is sensible – education will be a primary way to lift the productivity of their country. NZ isn’t in the same position.
Also comparing total country population isn’t as important as comparing the number of students taking up these offers, or the types of education being offered, and if you want to get really detailed, the quality of the education (best measured by international ratings of universities and/or achievements of university professors).
how is the quality of education measured by an international ranking based in no small part on research output?
getting back to full employment would see a drop in tertiary numbers.
what do you consider Uruguays current level of development Lanth
I own a small property there, have spent a lot time there both rural and urban and consider it many ways more developed than NZ ( in the areas in i consider important to be fair)
Actually, NZ is in the same position. Due to not doing the investment to develop our economy needed over the last thirty years and giving that money to the rich instead we have increasing poverty and and an economy overly dependent upon a single sector.
Then we throw in the fact that the low hanging fruit in science and development has gone we actually need more students to work cooperatively to push ever more innovation.
How does your argument deal with the fact that Germany does not charge for tertiary education?
Brazil does as well, and pays generous university scholarships. The only problem there is that the public schools, which the poor go to, are so bad that the privately schooled rich are far more likely to pass the tertiary entry exams. Hence most of the tertiary budget goes to kids who don’t need it. Friends of mine are trying to change this by preparing poorer kids better for the entrance exams.
I’d favour a system where university was basically free, and with useful scholarships for those who deserved them, but with more stringent entry requirements than at present. This could easily be paid for by a slightly higher tax rate on those who have already gone through university, such as myself and Paula Bennett. Alternatively, graduates could be bonded to perform community tasks for a couple of years after graduating. Once enough people realise education is not a commodity to be sold to individuals, just like a massage or a packet of biscuits, we’ll find a way.
Scotland
Free tertiary education
“Are there any other education models overseas that we could perhaps emulate?”
“Bonding” is another alternative for occupations that provide public essential services: doctors, nurses, teachers, etc.
Personal example: In return for a free education you agree to spend 4 years working in a designated area of extreme need (rural or poor area). We had a lovely doctor and his young family serve in our rural town. 20 years later they are still there. They decided it was a much better lifestyle than working 60 hours a week in a flash suburb trying to retire the huge debt a medical education requires.
Maybe you could read some of what Chomsky has written about the subject of education over the last forty years.
Right wingers believe the neoliberal doctrine.
There is no alternative for them, as their mantra dictates.
So they don’t read other ideas.
Sadly, they don’t read, full stop. Lanthanide wouldn’t have expressed his bewilderment like he did if he had bothered to read some of Chomsky’s voluminous writing about education.
Agreed.
Just repeat what they hear on TV.
La
“students who should be doing something else” – what precisely? Emigration? Crime? There are not so many jobs around these days for those without any formal education. Apprenticeships are rare, and polytechs are being squeezed, so many end up at private institutes that milk them for all they can get.
Languishing on a benefit isn’t socially beneficial, but has better income than study and doesn’t have to be repaid. OAB links show ways in which scarce resources have been put into furthering education for collective good (in Germany & Finland – I think Denmark also has no fees/ loans). The NZ politicians who instituted the high fee/ loan system (Goff & Smith in their forefront) had their own educations paid for by the state at a time when the country was monetarily poorer.
Education is most valuable when given away. It is the wealth of nations.
““students who should be doing something else” – what precisely? Emigration? Crime? There are not so many jobs around these days for those without any formal education. Apprenticeships are rare, and polytechs are being squeezed, so many end up at private institutes that milk them for all they can get.”
There should be more jobs, more apprenticeships, better funded and more polytech courses.
At no point am I blaming the students, who are the victims of these diploma mills. I simply said they should be doing something else.
“Languishing on a benefit isn’t socially beneficial, but has better income than study and doesn’t have to be repaid. ”
Going to a diploma mill, getting a student loan and then ending up in a crappy dead-end / low-wage job, or no job at all, isn’t much better.
What the hell, Lanth. What “scarce resources” are you talking about here. What “waste” are you talking about here?
Are children hungry in NZ because there is a “scarcity” of food? Are pensioners in NZ cold because there is a “scarcity” of power? Are hospitals and schools understaffed because of a “scarcity” of nurses and teachers? Get a grip.
What Chomsky is pointing to is a bloody simple idea: the economic system is currently set up as a system of social control and rationing. High controls and strict rationing on the bottom 90% of society. Absolutely minimal controls and rationing on the top 10% of society (but especially the top 0.1%).
FFS man, can you not see the real “waste” which is happening day to day is letting Kiwis rot in a toxic mix of idleness and ignorance?
+1
We cannot afford the rich.
“We cannot afford the rich.”
Damn right!
In 1789 the French came to the same conclusion.
“What the hell, Lanth. What “scarce resources” are you talking about here. What “waste” are you talking about here?”
I was talking very generally about market-based economies, where the market puts prices on goods and services, which acts as a self-balancing system to minimise waste. Nothing more.
In this particular case, making education completely free leads to waste in the form of people doing study that doesn’t benefit themselves or society at large, hence my further statement that we already have too many diploma mills in this country.
I think you’ll find that there’s more actual waste in the level of unemployment – a level of unemployment that economists say is normal for market based economies. Even education that doesn’t seem to benefit society benefits society as it increases critical thinking levels. And free education means that those people could always go off and get one of those useful degrees later.
Why don’t you check out your nearest council landfill Lanth, to see how deeply mistaken you are.
Bullshit. The level of fees charged for education have NOTHING to do with the poor design and quality of some tertiary offerings. That’s down to the lack of judgement, purpose, public service values and vision of the supposedly experienced senior management and PhD qualified heads of those “educational institutions.”
And its down to the corporatisation of education: where the only subject areas valued are the ones which help commercial enterprises make more money.
“Why don’t you check out your nearest council landfill Lanth, to see how deeply mistaken you are.”
Hmm, that is a good point. Certainly the profit margin drives companies to make products with built-in obsolescence, which can only be seen as ‘waste’ in the grand scheme of things. I guess that’s a large part of the contribution for why we aren’t all working 10-15 hours a week with lots of leisure time: if the products we bought actually lasted as long as they could/should, we’d have less need of money and less need to work, as well as less work needing to be done.
But in general it is true. For example, in winter, the supply of summer vegetables goes down, pushing the prices up, reducing demand and ensuring that production of winter vegetables is favoured, reducing mis-allocation of resources on summer vegetable crops, etc.
“And its down to the corporatisation of education: where the only subject areas valued are the ones which help commercial enterprises make more money.”
I don’t really have a problem with fine arts degrees, or BAs etc.
My beef is with the private education providers, of which there are huge numbers, who promise things like great careers in IT if you just go study with them… who place you in a call-centre tech support job for an ISP.
Your case by case reasoning is excellent Lanth, but your general case reasoning is highly suspect. I think that is a function of you applying orthodox economic decision making frameworks to areas they are not valid for i.e. 90% of society.
The diploma mills exist precisely because the government hands out student loans to pay the exorbitant fees. If education were free, they’d disappear.
Er, no, education is not “free”, it’s just that the state pays for it.
The difference between “free education” and what we have now, is that you eventually have to pay for the cost of the education yourself, but on an interest-free term (unless you leave the country).
This simply means that instead of going to a diploma mill, getting a crappy bit of paper and a $5k loan, you’d go to the diploma mill and get a crappy bit of paper.
Nope. Then the government would be paying money to the diploma mill. At the moment they are lending it to the students. What they lend out, they get back.
And thanks for telling me that free education is paid by our taxes.
Prior to the neoliberal “reforms” of the ’80s and ’90s, higher education in NZ was free. We hardly need another system.
To answer your question though, Noam Chomsky has been an anarchist his whole life. An explanation of anarchism or communism would be beyond the scope of this discussion, but you can read some of Chomsky’s thoughts on anarchism and student debt here.
what is your definition of dubious value?
you can easily find out. he has written alot in the past few decades on it.
You also probably get less innovation and entrepreneurship because you are coming out of Tech or Uni already saddled with debt and staring down the barrell of an enormous mortgage to get onto the property ladder. The Atlantic Monthly recently ran an article here http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/the-disruption-myth/379348/2/ about the slowing pace of innovative disruption and the establishment of new businesses in the US. Gee, do you think a $100,000 debt for your degree might be a factor??
Unnecessary education – demanded by employers and government scourges you to get it. Students are suffering from what they call credential-inflation. How to cut this out? Break through that system of requiring students to have full skills before you hire them. Encourage employers to train staff on the job. And then encourage them in a system where you work your way up, get seniority and better pay. That implies that employers want to keep staff on of course. But at present most want to be able to go to the shelf and pick up a barbie or ken doll, wind it up and put it on the shop floor smiles, arms and legs all working perfectly.
So they demand students spend their own money on the perhaps of getting a job for which they may apply numerous times and never even get the courtesy of a photocopied acknowledgment with their name written in the square at the top.
Employers and the whole shonky right wing approach has whipped away. employment, Also the loss of jobs providing jobs that led on to other jobs for NZ that would give us a healthy economy.
Education is now the Land of Oz where you go and pay for magic employment dust which you try to spread around, sometimes successfully. Lecturers noticed once the fees became a major expense, students limited what they wanted to learn to ensure they could pass their papers. The passing was important, the cost was a burden. Not getting a higher education. And for government education gets you off the unemployment statistics, that it must keep at a certain level on the OECD list of countries they are helping to do over, I mean renovate.
We’ve had The Age of Enlightenment which apparently ended at the start of the 1800s. So do we have the De-Enlightenment now.? The Age of Murky Darkness or The New Dark Ages with the religion of money defining everything? Why don’t we continue with the old enlightened ideas now? What is so wrong with following the prescription?
The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age of Reason) was a cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in late 17th-century Western Europe emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.[1] It spread across Europe and to the United States, continuing to the end of the 18th century. Its purpose was to reform society using reason, to challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and to advance knowledge through the scientific method. It promoted scientific thought, skepticism, and intellectual interchange.[2] The Enlightenment was a revolution in human thought. This new way of thinking was that rational thought begins with clearly stated principles, uses correct logic to arrive at conclusions, tests the conclusions against evidence, and then revises the principles in the light of the evidence. wikipedia.
edited.
As the countries that aren’t infested with right wing education policy continue to leave us behind, and get all the best investment opportunities, the policy will fail and fail and fail, while wingnuts wail and wail and wail, and cling even harder to their failure.
It’s happening now.
+11111
Noam Chomsky has hit the education nail on the head….and Cuba is a case in point ( the true story you never heard from the USA):
For a long time Cuba has been one of the leading countries as regards education in Central and South America…due to widely available , affordable/free high quality state education
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Cuba
“Following the 1959 revolution, the Castro government nationalized all educational institutions, and created a system operated entirely by the government…..
Education expenditures continue to receive high priority, as Cuba spends 10 percent of its central budget on education, compared with 4 percent in the United Kingdom and just 2 percent in the United States, according to UNESCO.[6]…
In 1995, the literacy rate was 96%. This was second after Argentina of thirteen Latin American countries surveyed…
Cuba has 47 universities and total university enrollment is approximately 112,000 citizens….All higher education institutions are public.
Cuba is a world leader in the education and training of doctors…it turns out many , many doctors. As the Michael Moore documentary on USA health System ‘SICKO’ graphically and ironically pointed out Cuban public health care is vastly superior to that in USA..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biVfMORI56Q
In fact the Cubans even train doctors who cant afford to be trained in their own countries….”In 1999 a program was implemented to attract students to study medicine in Cuba from less privileged backgrounds in the United States, Britain and Latin American, Caribbean, and African nations.[27] Cuba currently hosts 3432 medical students from 23 nations studying in Havana.[28]
However, Cuba has also provided state subsidized education to foreign nationals under specific programs, including U.S. students who are trained as doctors at the Latin American School of Medicine. The program provides for full scholarships, including accommodation, and its graduates are meant to return to the US to offer low-cost healthcare.”…
I spent 3 months in Cuba 2 years ago. I stayed with a local family who make jokes about Michael Moore’s docos – it was apparently filmed in a “dollar hospital” which is for foreigners or the communist elite. Sure, there are lots of doctors, but drugs are hard to come by and unaffordable for the majority that try to get by on the average Cuban wage (about $30 USD a month). Almost everyone I met dealt on the black market just to get by and I met very few people who had anything positive to say about the Cuban Government.
Not a system to emulate in my opinion.
well as you probably know Cuba has been under an economic embargo by the USA for years …so you can hardly blame Cuba for the lack of medicines or standard of living…considering the effects of this embargo on a small country it is amazing Cuba has survived at all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Cuba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_Cuba
http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3155421&Itemid=1
….just as USA had Iraq under sanctions 1990- 2003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_against_Iraq
There are two parts to the student debt. Course university fees then the living allowance loans of about $150 per week which is claimed by those who are not living at home. The latter are the crunch items which raise the total to huge heights.
free broad humanities (philosophy, history, languages, arts, classics etc) based undergrad degree first then specialise into higher levels once you have learned to think widely and understand historical and cultural perspectives.
Loans and debt aside, when university students are almost entirely from the middle class, their world views are never seriously challenged, and so conservatism/orthodoxy deepens at an intergenerational level.
It’s no coincidence that student based activism spiked in the 60s when a fair proportion of students were from working class backgrounds. The prospect of debt and an inability to access ‘lifeboat funds’ from parents when going through University, more or less excludes the working class these days.
Just thought it worth mentioning.
+100 Bill…and the cost of tertiary education and the difficulty in finding jobs and paying back loans for university education …..also channels students into strictly vocational degrees
…again less time for thinking and reading and researching and learning and critical thinking about deep philosophical , psychological, political, social , religious and historical issues
….university education is being undermined from within as well as from without
…university education is becoming training for a professional vocation rather than the education of the whole person…and society as well as the individual is the loser
“when university students are almost entirely from the middle class, their world views are never seriously challenged, and so conservatism/orthodoxy deepens at an intergenerational level.”
Yup. From personal experience, I’ll agree with you there Bill. My unconventional academic path has led me to ‘surprise’ fellow students and mentors with the way I understand how societal structures are perceived and operate compared with the way they treat societal structures as uncontested best practice that people must fit into
Well worth mentioning Bill.
Bill, not sure about your assertion that university students were more representative of working class backgrounds (in NZ?) than these days.
Small sample etc etc but in 1969 NZ History tutorial of some 15 students, asked about our class origins, all but one were middle class. We believed then that university was the prerogative of the middle class.
Have you some research to indicate otherwise?
We middle class students of the late sixties sure knew about student activism though- Harewood bases, Omega, Vietnam, Peace Power and Politics in Asia, student representation at Uni. I’m the son of a grocer- “petit bourgeois” was my answer to the question. I spent very little time studying in 1968 failing all but one of my units, but spent a lot of time challenging the values of the day.
My sense is that more working class folk are getting to Uni as numbers increase and more degrees as a percentage are awarded to attendees, or are working class numbers diminishing? Could be wrong though.
The Death of American Universities
And we see it here as well as National make more corporate changes to our universities.
David Harvey makes the same point as Chomsky , but about mortgages. people with mortgages don’t srrike. they also tend to develop certain attitudes like cynical detachment.. having no considerable assets and being Christian have a complementary effect on me – both things free me up to be experimental with my life. currently I’m doing business and I feel totally free to charge people what I think is fair, instead of maxing out my fees according to market rates, which in my line of work are desperately, corrosively cynical. so, that’s a wonderful liberty that I have. also, following Christ requires you to be a bit cavalier about conventional wisdom. like eagleton says, if it doesn’t get you killed it appears that you have some explaining to do. on the path of radical integrity are deep suffering and profound peace.
Another BIIIIIIIIG opportunity for the Labour Party to shine with some sensible policy huh?
But will they/won’t they?
Nope, they won’t as they’re far too busy trying to balance the books by not raising taxes.
Amen Draco,
They dress up with a partial conscience when they think it may benefit them – couldn’t bring myself to vote for them this election and I’ve been left my whole life.
Check out this guy burning his worthless college degree, law degree, licence to practise law and computer science degree at the 30 minute mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC_RYgkkmcM
All this guy has got round his neck is a millstone of debt.
Student debt made the Herald last weekend.
Verity Johnson writes..
“Students are increasingly worried about money. Not, “how many boxes of wine can I buy with all the change under the sofa?” But, “how will my degree get me a stable future career that repays my gaping debts?” This manifests itself in the serious, grey and practical pall that has settled over us students. I don’t blame us students. The message behind universities has changed historically.
Once, uni was about knowledge. Now we’re told to pick sensible degrees that will get us a sensible job with a sensible salary.
University is supposed to be about stretching your mind. This model makes it about your stretched pocket.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11336749
Hi Students, join the Nact party, suck up now and avoid your student debt, otherwise this awaits you:
Could’nt happen in NZ, now could it. Thats what ya voted for….debt slavery:
http://etfdailynews.com/2014/10/09/why-the-student-loan-debt-crisis-is-out-of-control/
The following are 18 sobering facts about the unprecedented student loan debt crisis in the United States…
#1 According to the Wall Street Journal, the class of 2014 is “the most indebted ever“…http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/congatulations-to-class-of-2014-the-most-indebted-ever-1368/
#2 In 1994, less than half of all college graduates left school with student loan debt. Today, it is over 70 percent.
#3 Approximately 15 percent of graduate and professional school students leave school with student loan debt balances in the six figures.
#4 At this point, student loan debt has hit a grand total of 1.2 trillion dollars in the United States. That number has grown by about 84 percent just since 2008.
#5 According to the Pew Research Center, nearly four out of every ten U.S. households that are led by someone under the age of 40 is paying off student loan debt right now.
#6 The median net worth of young households that have student loan debt is 20 percent lower than the median net worth of young households that do not have any student loan debt and that are led by someone with only a high school education.
#7 Among college educated people, the median net worth of young households that do not have student loan debt is seven times higher than the median net worth of young households that do have student loan debt.
#8 In 2008, approximately 29 million Americans were paying off student loan debts. Today, that number has ballooned to 40 million.
#9 Since 2005, student loan debt burdens have absolutely exploded while salaries for young college graduates have actually declined…
#10 According to CNN, 260,000 Americans with a college or professional degree made at or below the federal minimum wage last year.
#11 Even after accounting for inflation, the cost of college tuition increased by 275 percent between 1970 and 2013.
#12 Debt for law school students has risen dramatically over the past decade or s
#13 Last year it was being reported that 34.9 percent of all student loan borrowers under the age of 30 are at least 90 days behind on their student loan payments.
sobering…and the USA model is the one New Zealand is following….screwing its own youth!…
The debt New Zealand is putting on young people for tertiary education is a disgrace!
….It should have been a major Election issue!
Labour did nothing and crushed the one party that was prepared to make Tertiary Education free…..the Mana/Internet Party
…guess where all your youth votes have gone Labour?…they are NOT voting for you!
Chooky Shark Smile, you mentioned
“Labour did nothing and crushed the one party that was prepared to make Tertiary Education free…..the Mana/Internet Party”
Actually, that comment, made me get off my lazy arse and do just a little research.
Yeah, gutting, old Roger Me Now Nomics helped put the wedge in a while back, then down track, labour removed the interest on student loans. National introduced EFTs system and has been quielty removing funding from Universities since (are they not dropping in rankings?). So, changes were made to fund the increased projections of students entering Universities. But I really do not trust any of the powers that be, that further changes (taxes) will eventually turn up.
That aside, here as some good links (which informed me from both sides of the fence): Again, however, we do seem to be following the USA and GB, and their projections are not looking pretty.
So a recipe for wage slave =
Average UK student debts ‘could hit £53,000’
https://www.bbc.com/news/education-14488312
+
NZ house prices among world’s highest
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10450981/NZ-house-prices-among-worlds-highest
+
Who gets the best jobs (the rich kids of course)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/who-gets-the-best-jobs—107947
If you read these links, it may help balance the picture (for the left or right view)
1. Since April 2006, student borrowers living in New Zealand have not had to pay any interest.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8197323/Bitter-pill-should-be-swallowed
2. It was National that introduced the “bums on seats” funding model, in which universities were funded based on the number of equivalent full-time students (EFTS) enrolled.
Throughout National’s nine years in power, government funding of the tertiary education sector steadily decreased. Universities resorted to rising student fees to cover deficits, a trend that still persists at universities across the country. The election of Labour in 1999 did not stem the tide of changes to the way tertiary education is funded in this country.
http://salient.org.nz/features/a-short-history-of-tertiary-education-funding-in-new-zealand
( a good summary of Universities and costs up to 2009). Aside it was National who did not want to touch the topic of taxing students… political expedience only… not love.
3. Total student loan debt sits at $13 billion, and is projected to hit $14b – the size of the annual health budget – by 2015.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/budget-2013/8683203/Student-loan-defaulters-to-face-border-arrest
4. Heres the biggest for last (but remember, there is no mention of DOL studies and if people end up in their intended field etc). As with many stats, there are positives and Negatives:
http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2555/student-loan-scheme-annual-report-2013
Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2013
Publication Details
The Student Loans Scheme Annual Report 2013 provides information on the scheme and those who borrowed from it in 2012, as well as the financial schedules for the year to 30 June 2013. The information in the report aligns with the outcomes framework developed by the agencies that manage and administer the scheme. Key findings in the report are:
The nominal value of loan balances was $13,562 million as at 30 June 2013.
201,187 students borrowed from the loan scheme in 2012 (73 percent of eligible students).
As at 30 June 2013, 710,000 people had a student loan with Inland Revenue.
The median repayment time for those who left study in 2009 and remained in New Zealand was 6.7 years.
Author(s): Ministry of Education.
Date Published: December 2013
Please consider the environment before printing the contents of this report.
This report is available as a download (please refer to the ‘Downloads/Links’ inset box, top right). This inset box also has links to related publications and information that may be of interest. Please consider the environment before printing.
Highlights
Student Loan Scheme portfolio
As at 30 June 2013:
The nominal value of loan balances was $13,562 million. (Refer to chapter 4.0.)
The carrying value of the loan scheme – calculated using International Financing Reporting Standards – was $8,288 million. (Refer to chapter 4.0.)
The carrying value ratio increased from 63.9 percent of the nominal value to 61.1 percent of the nominal value ratio. (Refer to chapter 4.1.)
The fair value of the loan scheme was approximately $8,298 million. (Refer to chapter 4.0.)
The cost of lending is forecast to increase to 40 cents per dollar for the period 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2013. It is forecast to increase to 42 cents for each dollar lent by 2016/17. (Refer to chapter 4.2)
710,968 people had a student loan with Inland Revenue for collection. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
Since the loan scheme began:
Students have borrowed a total of $18,520 million. (Refer to chapter 3.1.)
$8,125 million has been collected in loan repayments. (Refer to chapter 3.3.)
More than 374,000 loans have been fully repaid. (Refer to chapter 3.3.)
During 2012/13:
$1,150.7 million in loan repayments was received by Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development, $274.2 million more than last year. (Refer to chapter 5.3)
Outcomes
Research shows that people with tertiary qualifications have lower unemployment, higher incomes and increased wellbeing. (Refer to chapter 2.2.)
The number of domestic students in tertiary education in 2012 was 375,000 compared with 245,000, the number enrolled in 1994. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
The participation rate for Māori of all ages was 14.6 percent in 2012, down from 15.1 percent in 2011. The participation rate of Pasifika students in 2012 was 11.4 percent, down from 11.5 percent in 2011. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
The total number of qualifications completed in 2012 was 143,000 by 126,000 domestic students, an increase of 2.7 percent from 2011. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
The total number of qualifications completed in the New Zealand tertiary system in 2012 was 162,000. (Refer to chapter 1.1.)
About borrowing in 2012
201,187 students (73 percent of eligible students) borrowed from the loan scheme. (Refer to chapter 3.1)
Of these 54,836 were new borrowers (based on provisional Ministry of Social Development data), representing 27 percent of all borrowers. (Refer to chapter 3.1.)
The average amount borrowed was $7,822 and the median amount borrowed was $6,9889. (Refer to chapter 3.1.)
Borrowers
Between 1997 and 2012:
57 percent were female. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
48 percent were European, 22 percent were Māori, 12 percent were Asian and 9 percent were Pasifika. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
47 percent had studied at non-degree level, 35 percent at bachelors level and 9 percent at postgraduate level. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
As at 30 June 2013:
The average loan held by Inland Revenue was $19,076 and the median loan balance was $13,307. (Refer to chapter 3.2.)
57 percent of repayments were collected through the PAYE tax system in the 2012/13 tax year. (Refer to chapter 3.3.)
Repayment times
The median repayment time for those who finished study in 2003 was 7.2 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
The median repayment time for those who finished study in 2006 is expected to be 7.5 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
The median repayment time for those who finished study in 2009 is expected to by 7.3 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
The median repayment time for those who left study in 2009 and remained in New Zealand was 6.7 years. (Refer to chapter 3.4.)
4.
Watching my daughters do exactly as Chomsky predicts, through sheer exhaustion (though they did come out and sign wave for Labour, and did hold hope for a while before the election):
-trying to work (in ever more scarce part time jobs) around impossible timetables, not announced until the last minute
-studying with increasing sense of detachment from reality by universities having to assume “corporate” competitive models
-educational inflation means they have to do masters, so studying goes on…and on… and costs more and more….
And then the job market is so tight you need contacts to get a foot in the door, if we are honest, so how to pay off student debt, they can’t afford to work overseas as the debt increases even more.
The logical conclusion to this? Only the rich (but not necessarily the bright and motivated) will have a decent education…hey just like the old days!!