13 NOVEMBER 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Taxpayers deserve a stronger commitment from National to scrap the fees-free policy, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “On one hand, National correctly called fees-free an ‘expensive failure’. On the other, they claim they will only ‘possibly’ replace the policy.”

“This position is little comfort for taxpayers who remember what happened with interest-free student loans. Labour introduced that policy as a massive election bribe in 2005, and National, despite vigorous opposition to the policy at the time, never found the backbone to repeal it.”

When Jacinda Ardern first announced Labour’s fees-free policy as opposition leader, the Taxpayers’ Union released Robin Hood Reversed – How free tertiary education robs today’s poor for tomorrow’s rich. “Our report correctly predicted how fees-free entrenches inequalities by rewarding those who have gained university entrance, at the expense of working taxpayers,” says Mr Houlbrooke.

ENDS

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