Not only that, there will be a $50 a week lift to the maximum that can be borrowed for living costs.
What makes Labour’s policy unusual is that it is promising to bring the policy in for the start of the next academic year. The party will need to form a coalition, bring Parliament back before Christmas and pass this and other promises under urgency.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern followed the lead of former Labour finance minister and deputy prime minister Michael Cullen who announced before the 2005 election, interest-free student loans.
That announcement was enough to keep Labour in power for another three years and Ms Ardern will be hoping enough students, and their parents, will be tempted by the promise of extra cash to vote accordingly.
The policy means pupils at high schools and colleges around the country will receive an allowance of about $220 a week, if they start tertiary education next year and if Labour is elected on September 23.
It is a policy likely to resonate with young voters and their families.
It is a bold play, but Ms Ardern went further in her policy announcement yesterday. She was also keen to remove tertiary fees as quickly as possible.‘‘I have brought forward by one year our three years’ free policy.
"From the beginning of 2018, everyone starting tertiary education for the first time will get one year full-time study free. That will be extended to two years free in 2021 and three years free in 2024," Ms Ardern said.
"If conditions allow, we will accelerate this policy further."
Reacting to Labour’s tertiary education policy, Taxpayers Union spokesman Jordan Williams said not charging students for courses was a recipe for poor quality and "bums-on-seats-type establishments".
The vast majority of benefits of tertiary education were private. It was only fair at least some of those costs were borne by those who benefited.
Ms Ardern said Labour would restore the ability of people studying on long courses, such as medicine, to get student allowances and loans. Those high-level qualifications were in growing demand and it made no sense to deny support to people studying towards them.
The policy was funded out of the $6billion Labour had allocated to education in its fiscal plan, released yesterday, which had been independently assessed by economic analyst firm Berl.
The New Zealand Union of Students, not unexpectedly, welcomed Labour’s plan.
National president Jonathan Gee said tertiary education should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few.
Making tertiary study more affordable for students, and their families, meant New Zealanders from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were one step closer to experiencing the transformative power of education.
At a glance
• Lifting student allowances by $50 a week by start of next year.
• Increasing the maximum borrowing by $50 a week.
• Free tertiary education policy by the start of next year.
• Opposed by Taxpayers Union, welcomed by student unions.
