Upston Louise: Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Upston Louise: Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:660;Page:9426] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 I rise in support of the Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill in the third reading. This bill is another example of great work done in the parliamentary process so that the outcome from the select committee process is that the majority of the parties in the House support the legislation with the exception of the Green Party. I must add though for the benefit of people watching the debate that Labour supports the bill. People who have heard some of the comments from the Labour side of the House would I think be quite surprised to realise that it is voting for the bill. I think it is important that when people listen to these speeches they do have a clear view of who is voting for the bill and Labour voted for this bill. 
Labour members got distracted by some other stuff but I think that the important point to notice is that we all recognise that tertiary education is a vital part of growing our economy and our country. As Hone Harawira from the Maori Party has just said tertiary education is an investment in our future and in this particular instance the Government is again delivering a brighter future for all New Zealanders. 
Let us have a quick look at some of the numbers. The number of tertiary students as at July 2008 was approximately 460000. Of that 460000 178000 have student loans. The average student loan with the Inland Revenue Department as at 30 June last year was $16213. The average time taken to pay off a student loan according to the student loan scheme annual report of October last year for students who left study in 1999 appears to be about 8 years. So in effect what we are doing with this legislation is making some improvements to the student loan scheme. There is nothing significant to it. It is basically looking at how we can improve what is already in place recognising the importance of tertiary education to our economy and to our future. 
In terms of the conversations we have had about the value of the debt I want to reinforce the points we made earlier. The sum of $10.3 billion is a lot of money in anyone’s book. So it is important that that debt is managed well and that we are able to look at improvements to the student loan scheme and that we make sure that that Crown asset of $10.3 billion is managed in an efficient and consistent manner. 
The other side of the Chamber has thrown some comments around trying to do its usual tactic of scaremongering and going way off the topic in terms of this student loan bill which has just some technical changes and improvements. I want to reiterate what the points were because for those listening to some of the Labour members they probably have not realised exactly what this bill does. First of all it extends the interest-free loan to two special groups in recognition of the high value of tertiary education in building a strong economy. It extends interest-free loans to borrowers who live in countries that are part of the realm of New Zealand. An important part of its improvements is to extend the interest-free loans to students who are furthering their education overseas. So for example if they are studying a course of a very technical or specialised nature that is not available in New Zealand they are able to still access the student loan through that process. There are a few technical and remedial changes to the bill which I will not repeat given that they have been discussed at length. 
This bill will ensure that the student loan scheme continues to function as intended. It improves the student loan scheme. That is why I am proud to support this bill.