A single person aged under 24, living in Auckland, is eligible for $177.03 per week as a beneficiary or student allowance recipient, plus a maximum of $145 in Accommodation Supplement or $40 in Accommodation Benefit.
‘Where is the incentive to go into tertiary study if it involves forgoing $320 cash from a benefit in exchange for $215 debt from a student loan per week? Tertiary education should be a path out of poverty, not a way into it,’ says Gee.
‘Free tertiary education and a living allowance for low-income New Zealanders who are studying should not be a trade-off.’
NZUSA is the national voice of students in tertiary education. The organisation is owned by students’ associations from universities and polytechnics across the country.
ENDS