Students’ borrowing limit must catch up

act-new-zealand

Wed May 31 2017 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Students’ borrowing limit must catch up

Wednesday, 31 May 2017, 3:53 pm
Press Release: ACT New Zealand

A short term measure to take pressure off desperate students would be to simply increase their weekly borrowing limit, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Last night I spoke to Victoria University students, and student welfare was a major focus.

“Beyond the long term solution of reforming our land use and building terms, we need a short term measure for students who are desperate now.

“The borrowing limit for student living costs needs to catch up with the reality of the market students face. Since 2006, rents have increased by about 45%. In other words, a $140 room now costs over $200. The weekly borrowing cap for living costs, however, has only increased by 19%, from $150 to $178.81, meaning many students can’t even use it to cover rent.

“We should have increased the borrowing cap in line with rental costs. If we’d done this since 2006, the cap would be about $40 dollars higher than the current level.

“A stronger ACT will force National to make this belated adjustment, and we’d then index the borrowing cap to ongoing rental inflation.

“This would be a huge relief for students’ suffering from rent-induced hardship. And because it has to be paid back, it isn’t a huge burden on the taxpayer, and students still have an incentive to borrow wisely.”

ENDS

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