New Zealand's Finance Minister has confirmed the end of the fees-free university scheme, scrapping a policy that provided first-year tertiary students with free tuition in a move critics say will lock young Kiwis out of higher education.
Nicola Willis announced the decision as part of the government's austerity budget, Stuff reports, arguing the scheme was unaffordable and poorly targeted. The policy, introduced by the previous Labour government in 2018, cost roughly $300 million annually and benefited around 100,000 students per year.
The announcement triggered immediate protests, with hundreds of students rallying outside Parliament in Wellington. Demonstrators accused the government of balancing its books on the backs of young people while providing tax cuts to landlords and corporations.
"This government is happy to give property investors hundreds of millions in tax breaks but can't afford to help students get an education," said Victoria University student Aroha Morehu. "It's a question of priorities, and they've made it clear we're not a priority."
Mate, imagine cutting free tertiary education while restoring mortgage interest deductibility for property investors. That's not a budget, that's a statement about who matters in this country.
The fees-free policy was one of Labour's flagship achievements, aimed at making tertiary education more accessible and reducing student debt. Research showed it increased participation rates, particularly among Māori and Pacific students and those from lower-income families.
But the coalition government has framed it as wasteful middle-class welfare, arguing that people from wealthy families were benefiting from free tuition they could afford to pay. Willis said the money would be better spent on "targeted" support for disadvantaged students.
