Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce says Labour's new no fees policy will take from the poor to give to those studying for lucrative jobs.
The policy was part of Labour's Working Futures Plan, announced during Labour leader Andrew Little's state of the nation address in Rotorua yesterday.
• Big tick for free education policy
‘‘The nature of work is changing rapidly and our education system must keep up if we are to seize the opportunities of the future,'' Mr Little said.
‘‘Our Working Futures Plan will mean that no matter what path someone wants to take after school, be it university or an apprenticeship, they will be able to get the skills they need to succeed without being shackled with years of debt.''
Mr Little said the three years' education would be available throughout a person's lifetime, so it could be used for retraining or if someone changed career part-way through their working life.
But speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Mr Joyce said the policy to give tertiary students three years without having to pay fees was unfair.
"People who go to university go on to get good incomes and get that for their whole lives. Students pay about 30 percent now so it's hard to argue that taxpayers should pay more, particularly someone who's on Super or somebody who's never been to university.
"They'd all be paying for doctors, lawyers and accountants to be trained even more than they do today."
Mr Joyce also questioned whether it would improve education. "It doesn't actually put any more money into the system. It puts the taxpayer instead of the students paying a contribution. [The universities] won't get any more money out of this policy."
He said the policy would suck up a lot of money that could otherwise be used to invest in universities and disputed whether more incentives to study were needed, saying there were much higher rates of students at university than in 2008 and, on average, it took just over six years to repay a student loan.
Universities NZ has voiced concern about Labour's prediction it will increase student numbers by 15%, saying it would need extra funding to absorb that increase and universities were already underfunded.
Mr Little was dismissive of that on Newstalk ZB this morning, but said Labour would work with the sector.
"That's not an unusual message for universities and tertiary institutions, with all due respect to them.
"Obviously they've got to be able to do their job and offer quality courses but we do what we can that is fiscally responsible and we will work with the sector to make sure they can do that."
Mr Little has said Labour would use the money National was setting aside for future tax cuts to pay for the policy. He is due to visit apprentices in Wellington today to discuss the policy with them.
- by Claire Trevett of the New Zealand Herald
