And they made a very interesting point, which I’ll get to shortly.
But first: the gist of what Christopher Luxon announced yesterday is that if National forms the next government, it will take a maximum of $22,000 off a nurse or midwife’s student loan if they stay and work for five years after graduating - instead of taking off straight away and heading overseas.
Now A. I’ve never been to university. And B. I’ve never been in the military. But I seem to recall that this thing National is talking about for nurses and midwives has been done by the military for quite a while.
Because outfits like the air force put people through university and, if you do that, generally you have to stay in the air force for a certain period of time after you graduate. And don’t just rush off and earn the mega bucks working as an air traffic controller.
And I know that the Navy has a scholarship programme and that can require people to stay for a certain period of time after they graduate, because the Navy’s paid for someone to go to university and wants to get something in return for its investment..
So the idea is not a new one. And the National Party thinks it could work in the health sector.
Because, as we know, we are short of about 4,000 nurses here in New Zealand.
Some of that will be associated with the vaccine mandates. In fact, back in August last year National said it thought the mandates in the health sector should go so that unvaccinated nurses and midwives could go back to work and help reduce that shortage.
Now it’s banging a different drum and thinks offering new midwives and nurses the chance to stay in New Zealand for five years and have some of their student loan wiped could be the answer.
And, on paper, it sounds like it could work. Doesn’t it?
But then, what would I know? Because, as I say, I’ve never been to university so I don’t know what it’s like to have a student loan hanging over you. And also, while an idea like National's might sound attractive to me - what about the people this policy is aimed at?
That’s where my phone call to a student flat comes into it.
Because I wanted to find out what a bunch of 20-year-olds thought. And, initially, they liked National’s idea.
But then they thought about it a bit more and they started talking about the students they know who have already clocked-up $40,000 on the student loan and counting, and they started to think that National’s $22,000 might not be such a game changer, after all.
And then they started talking about all the students they know who have gone to university over the last two or three years because they haven’t been able to go overseas. These are the ones who are going to be graduating if National wins in October and gets the chance to implement this policy.
And so my student focus group came to the pretty quick conclusion that what National is proposing wouldn’t be enough to keep them here.
The reasons being that most students would still be in debt after doing their five years service. And, after the limitations on travel during the past three years because of Covid, most students are just going to want to get out of here when they finish their studies. Which is going to be challenging isn’t it for a whole lot of sectors - not just health.
So I think National’s barking up the wrong tree here. And that’s not just on the basis of what the students I spoke with this morning said. But also remembering that nurses in the public health sector in this country feel completely undervalued.
They’ve been marching on the streets over the last few weeks and then going back to work in what would have to be some of the most challenging working environments in the country.
Do you really think a new graduate is going to stick that out for five years just to have a bit of the student loan paid off?
Of course they’re not. And, instead of talking about writing-off student debt, National should be talking about paying nurses and midwives more.
Because, until our nurses and midwives feel the love and start getting paid what they’re worth, nothing is going to change.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
Now A. I’ve never been to university. And B. I’ve never been in the military. But I seem to recall that this thing National is talking about for nurses and midwives has been done by the military for quite a while.
Because outfits like the air force put people through university and, if you do that, generally you have to stay in the air force for a certain period of time after you graduate. And don’t just rush off and earn the mega bucks working as an air traffic controller.
And I know that the Navy has a scholarship programme and that can require people to stay for a certain period of time after they graduate, because the Navy’s paid for someone to go to university and wants to get something in return for its investment..
So the idea is not a new one. And the National Party thinks it could work in the health sector.
Because, as we know, we are short of about 4,000 nurses here in New Zealand.
Some of that will be associated with the vaccine mandates. In fact, back in August last year National said it thought the mandates in the health sector should go so that unvaccinated nurses and midwives could go back to work and help reduce that shortage.
Now it’s banging a different drum and thinks offering new midwives and nurses the chance to stay in New Zealand for five years and have some of their student loan wiped could be the answer.
And, on paper, it sounds like it could work. Doesn’t it?
But then, what would I know? Because, as I say, I’ve never been to university so I don’t know what it’s like to have a student loan hanging over you. And also, while an idea like National's might sound attractive to me - what about the people this policy is aimed at?
That’s where my phone call to a student flat comes into it.
Because I wanted to find out what a bunch of 20-year-olds thought. And, initially, they liked National’s idea.
But then they thought about it a bit more and they started talking about the students they know who have already clocked-up $40,000 on the student loan and counting, and they started to think that National’s $22,000 might not be such a game changer, after all.
And then they started talking about all the students they know who have gone to university over the last two or three years because they haven’t been able to go overseas. These are the ones who are going to be graduating if National wins in October and gets the chance to implement this policy.
And so my student focus group came to the pretty quick conclusion that what National is proposing wouldn’t be enough to keep them here.
The reasons being that most students would still be in debt after doing their five years service. And, after the limitations on travel during the past three years because of Covid, most students are just going to want to get out of here when they finish their studies. Which is going to be challenging isn’t it for a whole lot of sectors - not just health.
So I think National’s barking up the wrong tree here. And that’s not just on the basis of what the students I spoke with this morning said. But also remembering that nurses in the public health sector in this country feel completely undervalued.
They’ve been marching on the streets over the last few weeks and then going back to work in what would have to be some of the most challenging working environments in the country.
Do you really think a new graduate is going to stick that out for five years just to have a bit of the student loan paid off?
Of course they’re not. And, instead of talking about writing-off student debt, National should be talking about paying nurses and midwives more.
Because, until our nurses and midwives feel the love and start getting paid what they’re worth, nothing is going to change.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
4 comments:
Absolutely. The Nats are just doing their thing of tampering at the edges. Pay nurses what they are worth and they will stay. Lets make NZ a world leader in health and education again.
No one is making them take the $22,000. They might like to go elsewhere. Some would take it though.
I guess they should not have mandated an experimental vaccine which had serious health risks.
Don't you think it is everyones right to be free to chose something like that without any kind of burden laid upon you? You see that is the problem. No freedom of choice for a new drug without any human trials until 5.5 billion using new mRNA6 vaccine.
Mmmm.
They wouldn't be forced to take the money though. They could still go.
So what they were forced to do was take an untested experimental drug which had not been released on the the ususpectong public.
A drug which has very serious health risks. The statistics are there to see.
As a retired psychiatRIC nurse with a 48yr career behind me,inclusive of which was some fairly hefty industrial action, please indulge me whilst I make a few observations
Firstly -the migration across the Tasman is not as polis would have you believe a new problem .it started to emerge in the 1980s when firstly stubborn bloody politicians(of both persuasions)tired any number of shennanigans to deny registered nurse a decent wage befitting their experience.I have in my possession documentary evidence relating to 2001 industrial action in CHCH which saw the then CDBH SMHS shut our unit down and bar door with screwed on lengths of4x2 timber.
The political sentiments expressed then, by syncophants and their political masters have not changed one iota even in 20years.
Secondly -academia -the academic element in the NCNZ in 1980s decided that hospital based training was outdated and a single 3year polytech course would produce a nurse for all fields.Hence specialties like mental health nursing ,psychopaedic nursing and general(as they were) got integrated into this brave new concept.
OOPs -general alarm -academics have now realised mental health needs a massive separate modules of teaching to even meet the basics.
Kids go in do three yrs of intensive study /indoctrination ,with very little actual on the floor work and come out at end of that with a further years postgraduate studyeven when you are actually working-for the very few that got jobs with DHBs.
Nationals payoff concept is old hat-DHBs used it 20yrs ago under the guise of bonding.
So youve got an unemployed newly regiserd nurse with $20- 30Kdebt hanging over their heads whilst the Aussie nursing agencies and assorted aussie health authorities plaster nursings professional magazines with adverts for free airfares,accomadation fat salaries(enrolled nurse on A$45.00 per hour -my max was only $34.00NZ) whose the mug then NZ taxpayer, thats who we pay the taxes to train these folk -Aussie gets their expertise fully trained rarin to go.
Oh by the way thats only a tiny drop of juice out of this orange beleive me!
thirdly -I spent some 12years in a secure forensic psych unit during which I had the misfortune to be asked to show a labour minister of health round .A bigger ignoramus ,Im yet to come across.his two commentas "why are your doors locked"are these guys aggressive? "My well meaning general manager (whod felt my displeasure as a student nurse) quicly removed him from my presence as she saw the ominous look on ones face and on the second occasion a patient of the unit asked for my immediate assistance (could see he was getting up your nose mate!")
polticians ,the beige civil service and assorted govt appointed syncophants have no place in deciding what should go on in mental health -bring in frontline professionals to sit polis down and tell em what is really required,not some bloody academic studies or beancounters statistics.
Lastly -the Maori input -been there quite some time in mental health with all the required paraphenalia. Personally Ive seen some brilliance but also had clientle of maori blood explicitly instruct me "NO maori healthworkers or input"legally Im required to accept without comment and act accordingly.the frontline staff i worked with 99%brilliant ,valued team members with style and mana,and good useful knowledge which they took time to explain to us and our clients. !!!!
Some of the heirachy way up the line well nuff said!
so thats just a brief personal insight into this issue.
regards to all and keep yourselves safe.
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