The worst-kept secret of this afternoon’s budget is that the entitlement to a fees-free year of tertiary study will be scrapped. On 8 May, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters ‘leaked’ the policy change on Newstalk ZB. Finance Minister Nicola Willis subsequently confirmed Peters’ claim.
The fees-free policy was implemented in 2018. Incoming Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had announced to prospective tertiary students, “your first year is on me.” It wasn’t, of course. It was on New Zealand taxpayers, and it has cost them approximately $350 million per year ever since.
