Cunliffe David: Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cunliffe David: Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 28 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8340. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
: 
 Two bills in 2 days from the Minister of Revenue the “Minister for Small Things” the “Minister for Small Changes” who yesterday tinkered with child support while 133000 children struggle in poverty and who brought in a Supplementary Order Paper late in order to correct changes and fill in gaps. Today he brings in another small tinkering bill the Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 2) which is hardly worth the House’s time with another Supplementary Order Paper because of late mistakes. This is another at best missed opportunity. A tanked economy a shameful level of unemployment record migration to Australia from young graduates and a growing intergenerational swindle between the baby boomers and the younger generation and we seem to be able to do no more than to dob them in to the Inland Revenue Department. However of the two changes in this bill Labour will be supporting this bill because we believe that in so far as they go they are necessary steps to ensure the operation of the scheme. But the bill gets an epic fail for what it does not do. 
By way of illustration let us consider two individual cases hypothetical though they may be. The first is Old Peter the current Minister of Revenue who was born on 17 March 1954. He is a good bloke. He is 58 years and 11 months old. He is an older baby boomer and because of that good fortune he likely paid nothing at all for his tertiary education. Old Peter has been drawing a Minister’s salary for 7 long years now and in just over 6 years he will also be pocketing national superannuation. Like many of his generation it is a charmed life certainly when compared with students currently struggling in his Ohariu electorate who are mortgaged to the hilt before their adult lives have even begun. And for what? Because the current Minister does not believe in paying forward the same advantages that his generation has received in life. 
Let us for a moment imagine that Peter Dunne was born in 1995 and not 41 years earlier. Let us assume that this hypothetical Young Peter wanted to get to the same place in life as his predecessor namesake with the same education. Peter Dunne has a 3-year BA 1-year honours and an MA from Canterbury University—that is 5 years’ full-time study for Young Peter if he is especially diligent—and all in political science if the House really wants to know. Canterbury’s undergraduate arts fees are $5512 for a single year and postgraduate $6248 per annum. So Young Peter would be staring down a $30000 student debt for fees alone—$30000. Let us be clear: there are no living costs involved in that. The whole 30 grand goes to the university. Young Peter would almost certainly need a part-time job and that does not cover things like textbooks photocopying internet bandwidth buses to the now wrecked campus and bizarre surcharges like compulsory materials costs and library benefits whatever they are. So forget about board rent or eating Young Peter; we are talking here about the absolute minimum funds needed for his degrees. 
Todd McClay 
: Why doesn’t he get a job? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: However if Young Peter could not get a job as the insensitive member—“Cue ball” is at it again—over there suggested and we all know there are not many jobs around then he would be forced to borrow his living costs as well as fees. 
At the maximum of $172.51 and a conservative 40 weeks per study year he would have racked up another $34500 by graduation. So poor Young Peter will be $64500 in debt before he starts trying to find a mate or graduating or getting a home or a mortgage or feeding his family. Do not ask Young Peter to take an OE. He is not allowed to travel overseas for more than 6 months otherwise the National - United Future Government—in which Old Peter is a rotating Minister—will apply 6.4 percent to his loan. That is $4128 interest in a year on top of the $64500 he already owes. And after just 1 year away Young Peter would have to pay of course the $3000 minimum towards his loan in New Zealand whether he has a job or whether it will bankrupt him and his first campaign for Ohariu. 
Of course the apologists on the opposite benches will point out that Young Peter could stay in New Zealand and his loan would be interest-free thanks to the good and great previous Labour Government in which Old Peter was a rotating Minister. But of course even if Young Peter stays and in the unlikely event in this environment that he can get a full-time job he will certainly not be able to have a family and save for a house too. In just over a month the domestic compulsory repayment obligation is going up again. That is another 2c in every single dollar over the repayment threshold that he has got to make room in his budget for. Even if Young Peter did pay off the enormous student debt and save a house deposit maybe some time in his late 30s or early 40s when Old Peter was already a member of Parliament Young Peter would find that he cannot even get on the housing ladder because people born decades ago in 1954 who did not pay for their education have created a horrible house price bubble by investing in a capital gains tax - free property market. 
But fair credit to Peter Dunne. I am sure he would be happy to tell you how much more gifted and talented he is than the majority of internet-savvy young people born today. So let us be fair to the leader of the party of one and assume that Young Peter realises his dreams and eventually becomes a highly paid Cabinet Minister for years and years and years no matter what Government is in power. Even then Young Peter is unlikely to have cleared the mortgage before retirement age and even if he did he probably would not have any savings of his own because taxes will have dramatically risen to pay for Old Peter’s superannuation no matter how many houses Old Peter might be earning his capital gains tax - free profits from. In reality Young Peter would not achieve what Old Peter has been able to achieve on the back of his parents’ generation’s largesse and the compulsory transfers from today’s young. 
These are tough problems. These are intergenerational problems. These are not problems of Young Peter’s making; they are not even problems of Old Peter’s making. Let us be fair. They are problems that have built up over a generation—a generation in which the baby boomers have done quite nicely thank you and our young people today are bolting for the departure gates because they do not share the same opportunities. In the face of that intergenerational cheat what have we got? In response to a student loan scheme that is creaking to the point of failure and after years of hard work—this Minister has been toiling at it across successive Governments—we have today’s bill. What does it do? Two minor tinkering changes which of course although they require the assent of the House are barely worth the time of debate while the underlying issues go unaddressed by a Government that has got the worst economic record in 50 years high unemployment high emigration a generation without hope and a baby boomer who is complacent slumbering on the Government benches while New Zealand slips and slides its way to perdition. 
Todd McClay 
: Oh this is like his speech on top of a bus in South Auckland. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Never was on top of the bus—you should look more carefully. 
Old Peter received a subsidised free education from the State. Old Peter has had a successful career. Old Peter had the free education. Old Peter will have gold-plated superannuation. Young Peter will have to struggle his way through university. Young Peter has been loaded up with a mortgage before he has bought his first house. Young Peter will be no better off after the changes made by the House today. We have a generation of young people growing up in this country who expect better from their Government and in less than 2 years they will get it.