Dunne Peter: Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Dunne Peter: Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:660;Page:9417] 
Hon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Revenue) 
: 
 I move  
That the Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. This bill includes a suite of mainly technical changes to the student loan repayment rules to ensure that the law is clear and consistent and that it operates as intended. The bill also extends interest-free loans to borrowers from Niue the Cook Islands and Tokelau which share a special relationship with us as part of the realm of New Zealand. As the Ross Dependency is also part of the realm of New Zealand people who go there will also be eligible for an interest-free loan. There was some debate in the Committee stage about how many people would actually go to the Ross Dependency and be eligible for a loan and whether we would be in fact producing a nation of well-educated penguins. The reality is that there will be some people on scientific exchange who will benefit from this provision. Although they will not be great in number I suspect that their contribution to New Zealand in future years will be great in substance. 
These borrowers will have to comply with the same requirement to be in one of those countries for 183 days in the same way as New Zealand borrowers so that borrowers from a realm country have an incentive to return home after their study and to make a positive contribution towards their country’s future. That provision is probably of greater impact with regard to Niue the Cook Islands and Tokelau than the Ross Dependency but the same point applies nonetheless. 
The bill also extends interest-free loans to include students who choose to further their education overseas through full-time study under formal exchange programmes or formal agreements between New Zealand and overseas tertiary education providers. There is some anomaly in this area at the moment and this change will be of considerable benefit to a number of New Zealand students particularly as they go further through their studies. 
The bill also includes a number of small refinements that provide greater clarity to borrowers. They were added at the select committee consideration. The first of those changes defines the term “overseas tertiary provider” so that it is clear what type of overseas organisation borrowers must be engaged in full-time study with in order to qualify for interest-free loan status. That will immediately deal with some concerns there might be about the bona fides of some of the organisations and institutions that people are enrolled with. The other change extends the overseas exemption to include those who are engaged in full-time postgraduate study overseas if their studies cannot be completed in New Zealand. When we talk about having a highly skilled nation and upskilling the intellectual capacity of our public that ability to go overseas to complete postgraduate study when it is not available in New Zealand is particularly important. The purpose of these measures is to recognise the value that students who pursue further training and study overseas bring to New Zealand as well as encouraging them to take up the opportunities to do so. 
The remaining changes that the bill introduces are largely technical or remedial in nature. They include an amendment to correct an unintended change to the hardship relief provisions that was made by the Student Loan Scheme Amendment Act 2007 a change that allows the Inland Revenue Department to raise the compulsory repayment deduction rate from 10 percent to 15 percent to help ensure that borrowers pay their correct loan repayment amounts and the removal of a technical problem so that borrowers who return to New Zealand and wish to fully repay their loans before they have met the 183-day requirement to qualify for an interest-free loan can now do so. 
There was some debate during the Committee stage about the adequacy of its title. A number of suggestions were made by members particularly from the Opposition side of the House to greatly extend the title of the bill to maybe more accurately in their minds reflect some of its provisions. But on balance and I am sure the House will concur with me having heard what this bill is about it was decided that the title Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill was in fact a more accurate if less colourful description of the bill’s title. 
As the bill comes to its third reading I acknowledge all of those who have contributed to its successful passage thus far. In particular I acknowledge the policy officials from the Inland Revenue Department and our drafter for their work on the details of the bill. I acknowledge those who made submissions to the Education and Science Committee and others who made submissions aimed at improving the practical application of the measures. I want to record my thanks to the select committee for the detailed consideration that it gave the bill and for its recommendations which have given greater clarity to the legislation. I also thank those who participated in what was I think a good-natured and constructive debate. 
As the bill now stands the measures that are contained in it will help to ensure that the student loan scheme works in the way that it should for both borrowers and the Crown. That has to be important given that the opportunities the student loan scheme provides to so many students have to be matched by the Crown’s responsibility to manage what is now a multibillion-dollar asset in terms of outstanding loan liabilities. It is a balanced process. I think that it has been widely accepted by the House and with that I have great pleasure in commending the bill to the House for its third reading.