The removal of fees free from university students is a kick in the teeth for young people already being hammered by this government says Sandra Grey, President of the NZ Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi.
"Rather than recognise that their economic plan hasn't worked, this Government has once again forced young people to pay for their mistakes. Cutting the final year of support is a sign of how bankrupt this Government's thinking is when it comes to young New Zealanders".
Grey says young people are already facing a hostile labour market, where they are disproportionately losing work, and opportunities. There is the highest rate of 15-24-year-olds not in education employment or training since 2009. Youth unemployment sits at 17.3%. There are 44,729 fewer jobs being filled by 15-24-year-olds since the election, and 18- and 19-year-olds are losing access to Jobseeker Support.
"How much more do young people have to give?" she asks.
Forcing students to rely on loans in their final year is an attack on those who can least afford it, Grey says. "This burdens young people whose parents can't bankroll their study with thousands more dollars of debt. They start their working lives behind their better-off peers - taking longer to save a deposit, buy a home, or start a family. We know this entrenches disadvantage across a lifetime. The Government is choosing to widen that gap.
"Young people doing everything right - learning new skills, helping build the economy. They are our doctors, nurses, teachers, lab workers, scientists, engineers and engineers," says Grey. "It's little wonder that more of our kids are leaving the country when the best this Government can do is offer more debt.
"If this is the future the Budget will outline, all New Zealanders should fight it. This Government can find money for tobacco companies, private medical facilities, landlords, oil and gas companies, and anti-tank missiles - but it has to take money away from young people. This Government is telling New Zealanders who they really support and Kiwis should listen."
This is the latest attack on working people from a tired Government that only knows how to cut, Grey says. "If getting the country 'back on track' means stripping support for education, they should think again. If 'going for growth' means saddling young people with even more debt, they should think again. The union movement stands squarely being students who are rightly outraged by this decision and are telling the Government to think again."
