Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Aidan Donoghue: VUWSA Vice President on Labour’s fees-free university scheme

Transcript

Aidan Donoghue: VUWSA Vice President on Labour’s fees-free university scheme · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Surprise, surprise, Labour's fees free wasn't all it was supposed
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to be. New numbers out this morning show just two
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty students from the most disadvantaged schools in
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: New Zealand used it By twenty twenty four. Seventy percent
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: of the users came from above average socioeconomic backgrounds. The
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Ministry of Educations admitted that fees weren't a major barrier. Actually,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: to start with, Aidan Donahue is a Vieuwser Vice president
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: joining us this morning.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Hey, Aiden, good morning.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: It doesn't well, it's been a bit of a failure
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: in terms of what it's set out to do right.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: In the terms of addressing the disparities between socioeconomic from backgrounds. Then, yeah,
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: it's been tough going for that one.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: So does it work now because coalitions come in and
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: they've changed it from the first year to the last year.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: The idea is that it will help students or encourage
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: them to finish their degrees, finish their studies. Does that
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: actually stack up either, Not.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Really, as the real issue is not where the weathers
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: students will be paying more or less debt off at
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the end, but rather how much money they have to
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: play with during the week to week. And that's really
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: the decision or key decision for students whether or not
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: they actually go to university or work full time.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Do you do many students work full time and go
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: to university.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: No, they don't work full time or go to university,
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: but many of them do work up the twenty hours.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: But even if you work twenty hours and got the
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: maximum amount of living costs and you're working at minimum wage,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: you'd still be one hundred and fifty dollars worse off
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: than if you just work full time at minimum wage.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: The reason I'm asking is that do you think students
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: could be working more on the side while they're studying
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: in order to fund the living costs and then you
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: chuck the fees onto the student loan and you pay
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: that down once you've got a full time gig.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: I don't believe students could work more than say the
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: sixty hour weeks. Studying should be a full time job
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: if we really want to get the best out of
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: our tertiary students and they really engage with the material,
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: and we really get a written on investment, really good
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: educated workforce at the end, at the end of the road.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Is it frustrating when politicians have these great hair brained
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: ideas and they don't work and they cost us. I
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: think this one is two point six billion dollars something
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: like that, and then everyone goes, oh, well that was
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: a waste of money. They didn't need it. You know,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: it sort of undermines any you know, you might want
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: funding for something else that might work, kind of undermines that,
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: doesn't it.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: It is tough. It's always a question of decisions. The
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: money still goes towards the universities so that it isn't
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: just going off to the ether, But ultimately you would
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: like to see that sort of money go towards allowing
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: more students more flexibility with their options.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: All right, Aid and appreciate your time this morning. Thanks
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: for being with me. Aiden Donahue is the views of
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: vice president. That's the Victoria University Students Association. For more
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news
• 2:53
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• 2:56
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