The Minister of Tertiary Education has missed the mark with his comments about the impact of Student Loans on
ex-students claims the Aotearoa Post-compulsory Students Union.
"Comments made by the Minister in the September 20 issue of the Women's Weekly show how out of touch the government is
with reality," said President John Barkess today.
"The Minister has said that they (the government) have seen '…no hard evidence that students are being denied bank
loans, putting off buying a house or delaying starting families as a result of student loans.' That is not surprising,"
said Mr Barkess, "it is very hard to see evidence when your head is buried in the sand."
"It is time the government stopped playing ostrich and started investigating the reality of the debt burden carried by
the youth of New Zealand. We have called repeatedly for an investigation into the impact of student loans on the economy
of New Zealand. The government has failed to do any research."
"The Minister is not lying, the Minister made his comments based on the information available to him regarding this
issue - none at all."
APSU Student Union would once again like to request an in-depth investigation into the problems faced by students
leaving study with huge debts hanging over them.
ENDS