Government sneaky moves push students into $15 billion debt
green-party
Wed Mar 02 2016 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Government sneaky moves push students into $15 billion debt
Wednesday, 2 March 2016, 11:42 am
Press Release: Green Party
2 March 2016
Government’s sneaky moves push students into $15 billion debt
The Government is forcing students into more debt, by keeping the student accommodation payment capped at 2004 levels for more than a decade, the Green Party says.
Student Debt today tipped $15 billion.
“The accommodation payment was capped at $40 a week for single students way back in 2004, before YouTube even existed,” Green Party tertiary education spokesperson Gareth Hughes said.
“The average student today is likely to be paying 56 percent more rent than they were in 2004.*
“Rents are the biggest expense facing students who don’t live at home, and the outdated cap on accommodation payments is a sneaky way for the National Government to cut its spending by forcing young Kiwis into more debt.
“Instead of pretending students still live in 2004, when most students today were still in primary school, the Government needs to urgently review all student support payments to match the actual cost of living in 2016.
“$40 for accommodation just doesn’t cut it when a room in the average ‘cheap’ student flat costs $169 in Auckland, $141 in Wellington, and $126 in Christchurch.
“Living at home is just not an option for many students, particularly those from regional areas or those who have to move to do the right courses for their career.
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“The Green Party sees education as one of the best investments a society can make. We’d help students make ends meet by reviewing all support payments, providing a Green Card for free off-peak public transport, and working towards a universal student allowance, including for postgraduate students,” said Mr Hughes.
*56 percent rent rise calculated using MBIE data on lower quartile (i.e. cheapest) rental properties, for a typical 3-bedroom student flat in the cities with universities.
Mean and lower quartile weekly market rent, 3 bedroom properties, December 2004 and December 2015 quarters
$ per week
Area Mean Lower quartile
2004.Q4 2015.Q4 % increase 2004.Q4 2015.Q4 % increase
Auckland 413 629 52% 317 506 60%
Manukau 315 493 57% 270 436 61%
North Shore 376 565 50% 315 487 55%
Waitakere 311 471 52% 272 419 54%
Hamilton 262 376 43% 221 334 51%
Palmerston North 227 321 41% 187 280 50%
Lower Hutt 261 393 51% 208 325 57%
Porirua 244 374 53% 194 313 62%
Upper Hutt 250 375 50% 218 323 48%
Wellington 345 525 52% 270 423 57%
Christchurch 276 436 58% 230 378 65%
Dunedin 235 338 44% 183 291 59%
Average 50% 56%
Mean and lower quartile weekly market rent per room in 3 bedroom properties, December 2004 and December 2015 quarters
$ per room per week
Area Mean Lower quartile
2004.Q4 2015.Q4 2004.Q4 2015.Q4
Auckland 138 210 52% 106 169 60%
Manukau 105 164 57% 90 145 61%
North Shore 125 188 50% 105 162 55%
Waitakere 104 157 52% 91 140 54%
Hamilton 87 125 43% 74 111 51%
Palmerston North 76 107 41% 62 93 50%
Lower Hutt 87 131 51% 69 108 57%
Porirua 81 125 53% 65 104 62%
Upper Hutt 83 125 50% 73 108 48%
Wellington 115 175 52% 90 141 57%
Christchurch 92 145 58% 77 126 65%
Dunedin 78 113 44% 61 97 59%
Average 50% 56%
Per room rate calculated by the Parliamentary Library.
Source: MBIE, Rental bond data.
ends
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