Labour
* Abolish interest on student loans for people who stay in
New Zealand (including those not working).
* Increase parental income thresholds so at least half of all
fulltime students receive a student allowance.
National
* Make all net interest payments on student loans tax
deductible against earned income.
United Future
*
Reduce parental income testing for student allowance
eligibility and ensure that students are given equal
treatment to young people on the dole.
*Freeze interest on student loans and write off a portion of
the debt of parents for two years after the birth of a child.
* Establish scholarships and loan write-off schemes for
those who are qualified in fields facing shortages (e.g.
doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers), in return for
working in New Zealand.
* Allow students to reduce their debt if they work for more
than 100 hours as a volunteer for a registered charity (up
to a maximum of $500 per annum).
New Zealand First
* Set interest rates on student loans at consumer price
index (CPI) plus 2 per cent.
* Set interest while a student is studying at the rate of
equal to the CPI.
* Introduce a universal student allowance within three years.
Increase the proportion of the tertiary tuition subsidy to at
least that of the 1998 budget, in real terms.
Act
* Restructure student allowances so they are funded
on academic merit.
* Assist graduates to pay back student loans by cutting taxes.
Progressives
Progressives
* Work towards a free tertiary education system.
* For every year that a graduate works in New Zealand the
Government would meet his or her minimum student loan
repayments, for at least three years.
* Increase access to student allowances.
Greens
* Wipe a year's worth of debt for each year a graduate stays
in New Zealand and contributes through paid or unpaid
full time work.
* Adjust repayment thresholds to start at a higher income
level and introduce higher income bands that attract a
higher rate of repayment.
* Suspend all interest for people on low incomes and for
primary caregivers.
* Apply zero real rate of interest to student loans (i.e. rate of
consumer price index only)
* Establish a universal student allowance for all full-time
students and raise the accommodation allowance.
* Cap and reduce student fees.
Maori Party
* Universal living allowances.
* Graduates would not have to start making repayments on
their loan until they had finished studying for five years.
* Loan interest would be waived and income thresholds
would be set at 50 per cent higher than the average.