Student loans out of favour

From the Nzoom site:

"The government has signalled a move away from student loans towards lower fees and higher student allowances.

Education Minister Steve Maharey will present a new proposal for student funding in May, after a select committee failed to agree on a way forward.

Student debt is expected to tip $5 billion this year and Maharey warns it could become a political football to rival superannuation if something isn't done.

He says the loan scheme is unsustainable and the money should be spent differently.

Maharey warns that improved allowances and cheaper fees will result in more restricted access to the revamped loan system."

so what are they going to do about the $5b currently owed???

drop it. hehe.

oh how cool would that be...?

Yeah, it would be very cool. But I've paid off my $59000 loan (8 years at uni) and would be very annoyed if I didn't at least get some kind of rebate. Though I'd be very very happy for everyone else... I don't think it'll ever happen tho'.

Esp. since it'd probably bankrupt the country. That'd be really cool. *laughs*

I'm sure it would not be good for the deficit (obviously) but I'm not sure it would bankrupt the country. Presumably it would not be done in one sweep but through stages of write-offs. Not that I've thought about it much but I think it would stimulate the economy; thinking about people who would start investing in tangible assets (!) - shares, houses etc. I think friends overseas would come back sooner (I couldn't have paid off my loan without going overseas).

well i reckon u should all pay it back i worked the year before i went to uni and payed my course off. now im debit free but had to carry all ur asses when i was working.

Shut up Forest..... don't tell me you voted for John Banks

fuck no !!!!!!! i wana knock him on his arse he made smart arse comments about Pukekohe anyone who does that gets a slap.


u got work hard to play hard guys !

maggie: It wouldn't add to the debt immediately because the govt has already effectively borowed to get the cash to pay you for your loan income anyway. It would mean it was written off putting the budgets into a massive deficit, which financial markets do not like. $15b is a huge sum, especially considering the projected surplus this year BEFORE super fund contributions is now $600m I think.

Cue credit rating downgrade (multiple ratings I reckon, with $15b of write-offs), much more expensive borrowing, withdrawal of capital from NZ markets due to increased risk premium on NZ investments.... it can all roll up into a big ball and keep getting bigger....

But anyway, it's all ridiculously hypothetical, and it would give all the wrong signals to borrowers! (no, you don't REALLY have to pay it back) What kind of ethic is that?

Eight years at uni! *gasps* What the hell were you doing!? *grin*

so ppl have to much time on there hands to post i feel :-p

Haha! You don't know how right you are there Forest

The irony is astounding innit, harvey?

yea i know im here to much but im not serial about topics like sum ppl

and write page long posts in the never ending search for points

there is no race hahah

"so ppl have to much time on there hands to post i feel"

I assume you are referring to voiceinsideyou? Well, I won't stand for it! Almost every post of his I read is well written and very imformative. When I read his posts and other similar ones, I actually feel like I've gained another perspective on a topic or learnt something ...unlike alot of posts which I read and feel like I am less intelligent for my troubles.

Oh you ignorant motherfucker. *sighs* Who's the one who's always mentioning the points? Not me.

Maybe I write long posts, because I actually have something to say about a topic, because I have thought about it, read about stuff, and formed and opinion? Maybe because I like to stimulate discussion with other like minded people? Because I like to be remembered as more than just the guy who kept posting about his antics in Queenstown?

Mate ... *shakes head* ... you've got to be joking right? You live in a world where being 'serial' (I assume your lack of skills in English implies you mean 'serious') is to be discouraged and chastised? That's a sad life, man.

Please, do me a favour and keep your mouth shut if you haven't got anything

a) humorous/witty
b) intelligent/sensible
c) constructive

to say.

yea and know ur talking about me , i really dont care what ppl think about me im here to have fun crack a few jokes meet ppl, i never take anything serialy.. i cant be fucked reading long posts cause they are so boring. maybe because i dont understand them who knows.. my mind isnt that full of brains but that is why i have to live with. i like to post quick and snappy... :-p

voice two words for u


FUCK UP

No, how about you be the one that FUCKS UP for once Forest! Stop polluting what could have been a reasonable discussion with your mind numbing drivel.

oh p.s dont tell me what to do either

the last guy who did got knocked on his arse

i dont take shit from anyone esp on here

Is that a threat? For Christs sake man, calm down for once.

no it aint a threat all , i dont care if my iq is 1/2 of his


im having fun around here i just like to stir it all up .. always have always will

im just playing with :-p

i wouldnt hurt a fly ( well maybe a fly ) but id never inflick pain on anything else except for maybe a rat

...and the guy you said you said you hit in a thread a couple of months ago?

If you want to "stir" as you put it, why not go do it in the lounge?

i smacked that guy cause he tryed to force me to take e

i think i have the rite to hit someone harvey if they are trying to force drugs on me dont u think..?

This has gone way off topic now. If you want to discuss this stuff further maybe a chatroom or the lounge would be the ideal place, instead of a thread about student loans.

forest dude
keep the blabble to the lounge

VIU: Like I say, Never really thought about it but still it's a nice little dream for lots of people (including me - rebate! rebate!)- like winning Lotto. I thought $5b not $15b?? and no surplus this year after Air NZ bailout? Definitely take your point about wrong message for loans - but then I think when I was 18 (waaay back in 1993) I REALLY didn't realise what I'd be paying back or how serious it was. Now schoolkids have teachers explain the ramifications of getting into debt.My friends and I spent that money on the most ridiculous things - I started uni when you could get $7000 the first week!!

RE 8 years: BA(AK), LLB(Vic), post-graduate legal studies at Melbourne Uni, LLM(AK)- 8 years of fulltime work AND study. What the hell did I do with that money!!! ha!ha!

maggie: Hehe, I agree with you - and sympathise with you on that count. I think there is still widespread ignorance and naivety about the reality of having to pay student loans back - I know quite a few people who withdraw plenty of money per week on the living allowance, and then just spend it on bullshit. But then again, I try not to judge too much, because it's still rational to try and live a decent life adn enjoy it when a student, rather than be totally skimp. I guess it's transferring income that you'll earn in the future foward to the present, as is any debt raising.

That's an impressive raft of study there - do you feel like it's turned out to be worthwhile? Are you where you want to be? This isn't criticism by the way, I'm genuinely nosey/interested.

I'm doing a double degree myself at the moment, cramming it in over four years - this year is my last year. I'm trying to decide whether to do honours in 2003, but afraid that's just stalling entering the real world - so I'm wondering if it'll be worth having a postgrad qualification. It's already a bit awkward seeing a lot my friends finished in 2001 and are now moving on to jobs and money. I'm not really averse to borrowing money, but earning full-time would be good. The more money = more dance parties 'equation' looks good to me right now.

I managed to get away with only needing to borrow money to pay for my fees in my last two years. I lived at home for the duration of my University days, so I didn't end up taking any living costs.

Whats the going rate for a double degree at the moment? I did a BCom/BSc at Auckland Uni and my fees went from $2600 in my first year to $4500 in my fourth year.

...my loan is down to about $5000 or so now, can't wait to get rid of it completely. Thats several hundred dollars a month I'd rather spend on partying each month

Hehe, at Victoria (where I am) the amount oper year depends on the faculty/course you are doing. Science is more expensive than commerce, which is in turn more expensive than arts, and you pay per 'point' (aka 'credit') - a full year is 126 points.

I think my fees this year are about $3800, but the last two years they were about $4500. Admittedly, I generally do a lot more points than most people (trying to wham it through in four years rather than five) and I also do a fair bit of science.

I too am living at 'home' at the moment, which has been pretty good money-wise.

Is it worthwhile? Totally depends on what you want to end up doing, what your goals are, all those boring Counsellor type questions. I went to US straight after LLB - didn't need anything else to get simple clerking job. To progress in firms over there tho' you need to have a Masters so came back to do PGS and Masters with the intention of going back. Met a boy - didn't go back (!)

Here, I think it's a waste of time doing Masters unless want to be an academic (??...) or for personal interest. IMO, definitely do Honours because it opens lots of doors and can be done while clerking or doing profs - that's if you're doing law??? Was a politics tutor at Vic (where presuming you study?) and it seemed to me the only people who were doing BA or BSC Honours were seriously academic Fullbright Scholar-type people.

Have just finished Masters while doing easiest law job in world. Am I where I want to be - hell yes! I've just finished studying after 8 years!! Fulltime work without studying at the same time is a breeze, I have a job anyone could do but would be tricky to get without these qualifications - without saying what I do because it would easily identify me, I fully reap many many benefits. I am going to UK in a short time to make heaps of money (if the Job Gods smile kindly upon me!!)and have no regrets about being a student for so long. Which is not to say that it wasn't hard, it sucked having no free time and I'm probably a little crazy for doing it but I think it was definitely worth it.

Although lots of times I was positively homicidal and had no social life....!