Young Labour Reeling Over Claims Tertiary Students Show Little “Respect” To Taxpayers

Young Labour is outraged over flippant claims made by Prime Minister John Key today in regards to interest free student loans on tertiary study and the alleged lack of “respect” shown by tertiary students to taxpayers.

Whilst featuring in an appearance on the TVNZ’s Breakfast show, Key stated that he would like to see more "respect for taxpayer funding" shown by students and that the "… poor old cleaner that's out there, working from midnight to six in the morning, … working their socks off to get paid the minimum wage is actually paying taxes to go to the students” which he indicated he believed was economically viable provided that “…students actually tak[e] the process seriously."

These remarks come as a surprise to members of Young Labour, many of whom are currently or are intending to actively participate in the tertiary sector.

Young Labour member and Chair of the Princes Street Labour Branch, Sam Durbin, is just one of the many Young Labour members who were taken aback by Key’s comments.

A student at the University of Auckland, Durbin is in his fourth year of tertiary study as he undertakes his Honours year in Media Studies. As an Undergraduate student, Durbin worked at least sixteen hour weeks for minimum wage to supplement his $160 living allowance and “resents” the fact that the National Government chooses to further perpetuate the stereotype that students are lazy and ungrateful.

“There's no way to turn being at university into a career. What kind of career costs you money to be in? Most students borrow to live as well as borrow to learn - some students get the maximum allowance, but as these provisions are means and asset tested, the vast majority of students receive very little and these sums are impossible to survive on"

"The reality is that students must work as well as study - they must juggle two "careers" while getting no incentives or support." said Durbin.

Durbin states that by investing in tertiary students education by means of interest free student loans, students who graduate will eventually enter the knowledge economy and repay their debt to society through paying higher taxes later on in life

“We're working hard towards our future so that we can contribute to the country. We will continue to pay taxes for the rest of our lives and, thanks to our degrees, we will be able to pay more taxes because we will earn above average when we graduate.” said Durbin.

Young Labour President Analiese Jackson is highly concerned by the statements made by Key and Minister for Tertiary Education Steven Joyce over the past few days in relation to restrictions to access to tertiary study in New Zealand.

“The grossly inaccurate assumptions made by Key suggest that he is out of touch with the situation in which many tertiary students find themselves in” said Jackson

Jackson said that both the comments made on Breakfast and the proposed changes to entry into the tertiary education system should have anybody currently studying or even considering studying at a tertiary level gravely concerned.

“It may also be of interest to many to point out that Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce did, in fact, take 21 years to complete his tertiary degree. Surely Mr. Joyce of all people would relate to the many complexities and circumstances in life that prohibit people from completing their tertiary education in less than six years, a time frame which he has proposed as being reasonable.” she said.

“We would ask the National Government to seriously reconsider making supercilious claims about how hard tertiary students work and their supposed ungratefulness for financial support from the Government.” concluded Jackson.

ENDS

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