Good First Step by Government on Education Levy

Good First Step by Government on Education Levy

“The Government has taken a good first step by removing the retrospective element from its export education levy Bill. The u-turn follows concerted efforts across the export education industry to get the whole Bill thrown out of Parliament. ITI also acknowledges the support of United Future, NZ First, National and ACT in this matter”, said Dave Guerin, ITI executive director.

The Education (Export Education Levy) Amendment Bill will still give the Minister of Education the power to charge private training establishments (PTEs) for the cost of reimbursing their competitors’ students if their competitors closed. Today’s announcement means that the Government will not be charging PTE for closures that happened before the Bill is passed.

“The Government should now trash the rest of the Bill too, since it has received no support from the export education industry for its proposals. The PTE sector should not be treated as an open chequebook for other people’s mistakes. No other industry is expected to bear such costs.”

“ITI had a good hearing by the Education and Science Committee several weeks ago and we look forward to their report on the Bill, which should reflect the lack of support for the Bill in the industry.”

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