Katene Rahui: Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Katene Rahui: Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6619] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I rise to take a very brief call on the Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Amendment Bill. The issue of student loan repayment is a very significant one facing the nation. It is a collective challenge as the mountain of debt is threatened to grow by $15 billion by 2014. But as other speakers have pointed out it is not just the quantum of the debt that concerns us; it is the huge impact on students and their families. An estimated 120000 holders of student loans are in arrears or are failing to make repayments. 
We have a particular concern for the future of Maori students. The evidence tells us that more Maori have a student loan debt than any other group although the level of debt held is similar to other groups. Five years after study Maori students are also less likely to have made progress towards repayment of their student loans than non-Maori students. In a study undertaken by R Jefferies for Te Puni Kokiri in 1997 he concluded that the increasing participation in the student loan system by Maori students reflects the necessity that for many Maori the student loan scheme provides the financial support that is necessary to participate in higher education. So there are many complex issues which in and by themselves need to be addressed not just the issues of this bill related to student loan debt. 
There is the core issue about why Maori have the lowest post-study incomes and repay their loans more slowly than other groups. The annual report from Te Tahuhu o te Matauranga 3 years ago tells that Maori certificate-level students carry a larger student loan debt 5 years after study reflecting notably lower earnings. Maori with bachelor’s degrees or post-graduate qualifications also had notably higher average leaving loan balances than non-Maori. 
We will support this bill at the third reading as we know that the current student loan debt is capable of impairing the long-term financial base and self-confidence of young students. We must do everything we can to protect their interests and safeguard their futures. However I want to leave with a couple of comments that I have drawn from the excellent submissions of students from within my rohe of Te Tai Tonga from my home town the students association of Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. They told the Education and Science Committee that the bill is just a band-aid solution; only those graduates who can afford to pay $500 above compulsory payments will benefit; living costs are rising from recession; the bill does nothing to address the initial cost of tertiary education in the first place; and if education was affordable the Government would not have to propose such measures in the first place. 
Although I agree with the previous speakers that we must incentivise New Zealanders to pay off debt as fast as they can I do not think we can overlook the systemic issues that this students association has brought to the House. We would hope that further legislation to affect these issues will also come before the House as a matter of urgency in the direct future.