\u201cNo one should have to move overseas to build a future,\u201d he told attendees at Labour\u2019s official election campaign launch.<\/p>\n
In the year to July 2026, the net migration loss of New Zealand citizens was 38,300, according to Stats NZ.<\/p>\n
But would the policy be enough to make students stay?<\/p>\n
Victoria University of Wellington students spoken to by the Herald on Monday said while the extra support is welcome, it doesn\u2019t target what worries them most.<\/p>\n
Law and Bachelor of Arts student Lexie Orange said any policy helping students is appreciated but it\u2019s not enough to keep graduates here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really cover why Kiwis are leaving and going overseas, which is primarily the cost of living and lack of job opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bachelor of Arts student Hazel Montgomerie said it\u2019s more of a \u201cnice bonus\u201d rather than something that would swing her vote. <\/p>\n
Montgomerie said more graduate roles, in government and the broader workforce, and lowering the cost of living would keep Kiwis in the country longer.<\/p>\n
Both students said they did not feel supported as students by the Government.<\/p>\n
According to Ministry of Social Development data, the average student loan for a three-year degree ending in 2025 was $50,389. <\/p>\n
That means Labour\u2019s policy would save an average of $5038.90 per student.<\/p>\n
For students in the class of 2027 and above, they will need to stay in the country three years after they\u2019ve finished studying to receive the 10% discount. <\/p>\n
In the time Blake Wells and Holly Beagle have been enrolled in university, policies have switched from first year fees-free to final year fees-free, before being removed entirely.<\/p>\n
Wells, a Bachelor of Commerce student, said the new deduction offered by Labour would be enough to keep him in New Zealand until he paid it off. <\/p>\n
\u201cTen per cent off a massive loan will definitely be quite big.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, Wells still planned to head off on an OE regardless of the new incentive. He would simply stay in New Zealand for a few years to save.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years wouldn\u2019t be that much of an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow Bachelor of Commerce student Beagle was also hoping to move overseas eventually for life experience, not job security.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d probably be more inclined to stay longer and like finish that off and then move.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students all favoured Labour\u2019s policy over National\u2019s loan payment extension policy. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather get it over and done with faster so then you have that money closer for your retirement and housing,\u201d Beagle said.<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s policy would cost $583.4 million over five years, with $439.5m spent to cut historical debts in the 2026\/2027 year alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cNo one should have to move overseas to build a future,\u201d he told attendees at Labour\u2019s official election…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9055,3595,4187,2841,3588,5399,4189,15559,88857,2959,9858,809,27699,27135,4188,10527,3120,111,43,139,69,4732,12968,2170,3459,39429,4887,3767,165,2846,61,122,1845,52,102],"class_list":["post-614118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-9055","tag-by","tag-cost","tag-country","tag-cut","tag-debt","tag-driving","tag-elected","tag-factors","tag-high","tag-if","tag-keep","tag-labours","tag-lack","tag-living","tag-loans","tag-main","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-offshore","tag-opportunities","tag-plan","tag-pledge","tag-react","tag-reduce","tag-students","tag-their","tag-them","tag-to","tag-unlikely","tag-welcome","tag-wellington","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}