Bennett David: Student Loan Scheme Bill — First Reading 
Bennett David: Student Loan Scheme Bill — First Reading 
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DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 The Student Loan Scheme Bill is part of a reform of the tax system and it is also to make the student loan scheme more effective easier for students to use and easier to enforce. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Put some passion into it. 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Is that Chris Hipkins the youngest member of the Labour Party and one of the 17? He is one of the three who were in the room. He was there and he knows that he has no future under Phil Goff. He wanted a different future. Look at him. He will not deny it in this House. He will not stand up and deny it. No he will not do that. He is one of the 17 and he knows it. Tonight we should be focusing on what is a real piece of legislation before us not talking about how the Labour Party will roll its leader in the next couple of months. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Move on! 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Now we have Ross Robertson who has moved to the front bench. That is the only way he will get on the front bench—if he rolls Phil Goff. He knows it. Ross knows a lot of things about the Labour Party that he will not tell us. They will come out in the next couple of weeks I am sure; it is just a matter of time. 
I will talk about the bill and not the Labour Party and its mess at the moment. This bill is important because it reflects a more modern form of communication of information through the Internet. The format of the proposed scheme is one that students will find a lot easier to use. The bill also deals with some areas around the taxation consequences and how it will be done for wage and salary earners compared with how it will be done for those with passive income sources as such and whether the previous process of a square-up is needed in both situations now or just in the case of passive or other sources of income. In essence this bill is important in preparing the student loan scheme for a more modern format. The student loan scheme was brought in by a previous Government. The legacy of that scheme is that we have not been able to offer as many people education in the tertiary sector as we would have liked with the cap on student numbers that the previous Government brought in. 
Moana Mackey 
: What? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Well it is. You brought in a cap on the number of students when you brought in interest-free student loans. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I let it go the first time but the member has now said “you” twice bringing you into the debate. I am sure that is not what he intended. He should have referred to the member by her title or her position. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: I will uphold the point of order. The member should be a bit more careful. 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. That was Ross Robertson soon to be Labour’s shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs once he gets rid of Phil. 
When we look at this bill we see it reflects the more modern technology of the Internet so that students can get greater access to what their loan liability will be and can have real-time transfers of information about their loans. It also enables the Inland Revenue Department to have more access around borrowers and their repayments. We see that the Inland Revenue Department is looking at forms of communication other than just written forms which are quite expensive and very difficult for it to control over time. This is part of a wider movement within the Inland Revenue Department to more electronic forms of communication with taxpayers. I guess it is easy to start with the student population which is very in tune with modern technology. They go into occupations where they can access and use technology to a large extent. This bill is important not only for modernising our tax system but also for enhancing the student loan scheme so that it is more effective and easier to operate. We look forward to the bill passing through this House.