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‘Affording Our Future’ opens up big picture issues for 2013
Media release: 11 December 2012
‘Affording Our Future’ opens up big picture issues for 2013
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) says the Affording Our Future conference taking place this week in Wellington has the potential to open up a national debate on innovative public policy options to help ensure young New Zealanders aren’t crushed under the fiscal weight of the baby boomers.
“On behalf of the 450,000 tertiary students who make up what we call Generation Student each year, NZUSA is taking a keen interest in the Treasury-led process for calibrating our nation’s ability to meet both the needs of baby boomers and the needs of young New Zealanders across the next four decades,” says Pete Hodkinson, NZUSA President.
Hodkinson said the points being made at this important event need to be closely listened to, and is encouraged that the conference is being followed by a workshop of young New Zealanders who are drafting a ‘Youth Statement on New Zealand's Long-term Fiscal Position' for public release on Thursday 13th December.
“The paper delivered today by Jess Booker, a Victoria University of Wellington graduate, notes that the baby boomer generation has done well for itself but is leaving a significantly less benign legacy for her generation. As noted by Jess, a tertiary education no longer brings with it the promise of a highly-skilled, highly-paid job, but does bring a guarantee of significant debt (see excerpt below).
“We welcome the invitation from Treasury's chief executive Gabriel Makhlouf to widen meaningful engagement in this debate, but we also agree with former politician Simon Upton’s comments at the conference that Treasury has mostly engaged with a policy-literate elite, and does not appear to have reached out to representative student organisations even though we are the ones at the cutting edge.
“If education is going to be valued as a truly trans-generational asset, then Mr Upton’s suggestion that there should be an independent entity to amplify this debate, perhaps along the lines of a transparently representative citizens assembly suggested by Colin James, has real merit,” says Hodkinson.
“One of the challenges that was captured at the conference by former Tertiary Education Minister Michael Cullen is a projection that the largest group of the electorate actually voting by 2060 will be New Zealanders aged over 65, who might, unsurprisingly, be drawn to policies that support self-interest. Hence the importance of raising public awareness now.
“Mr Cullen also spoke about a concern that any process that follows dismal economic thinking such as increasing class sizes to reduce spending on education, or shifting more of the cost of tertiary education to individuals in the face of growing inequalities, would be disappointing to say the least”.
For information on the Affording Our Future workshops see http://longtermnz.org/
ENDS
NZUSA - New Zealand Union of Students' Associations
We stand for opportunity, for all.
NZUSA is the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations, the national body that represents New Zealand's students' associations and the interests of New Zealand's 400,000 students at universities, polytechnics and in trades training.
We conduct original research, advocate to Government and through the media, and support New Zealand's students' associations to be more effective on behalf of their members. We advocate alongside Te Mana Akonga – The National Māori Students' Association, and Tertiary Women New Zealand – The NZUSA Women's Caucus.
Since 1929, we've believed in a society rich in opportunity, where anyone from anywhere can become any thing. We support accessible, affordable quality public tertiary education.
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