Media Release; Can National Really Change its Spots?

If National are to avoid its mistakes of the nineties it needs to change some if its policies.

Their tertiary education policy still advocates the reforms on education made by the last National government that badly failed students and the country.

OPSA welcomes any real deviation away from this path. Mr Key is quite right when he says "there are half a million New Zealanders who've now got used to not paying interest and we have to listen to that pretty carefully", and he probably also thinking about the next generation of families who adding further debt to their children will be pretty unpopular.

Indeed National probably remember the effects their highly unpopular education reforms from their last term in office: National dramatically increased Labour's student fees, ended universal student allowances, invented student debt, attempted to destabilise students' associations, and made quality/funding cuts. These rampant reforms saw education a consistent top 3 voter concern during their entire term. But can National really change its spots?

OPSA is under no illusion that Mr Key's motivation to keep interest-free is because of the popularity of interest-free rather than any admission of the failures of National's previous education policies. Students are sick of being a political football for the last two decades and OPSA welcomes any real commitment from National to not reversing interest-free.

For further information contact:

Richard Mitchell
President
Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association

Tel/Fax: (03) 477-6974
Mobile: 021-182-6274
Email: president@opsa.org.nz

ENDS:

Media Release; Still Too Much Subsidy

The Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association (OPSA) is pleased to see DCC Councillors are favouring halving the amount DCC is proposed to subsidise the new stadium project. However, OPSA claims that the newly proposed amount of around $50 million is still far more than the City can, or should, afford.

“The newly proposed subsidy needs to be halved again. The City is currently struggling with its $100M debt, it simply makes no sense to go a further $50M in debt for a project that really brings nothing new to the city” said Richard Mitchell, OPSA president.

Over half of OPSA members do not believe the stadium should receive any rates-sourced funding at all. The overall average subsidy OPSA members believe is appropriate for local bodies to contribute is around 10%; less than half of the newly proposed amount of $50M.

A further concern to OPSA is that any proposed subsidy must be fixed. OPSA believe the calculated cost of the proposed stadium is unrealistically low and the actual cost will be much higher. OPSA urges the DCC and ORC to limit any contributions to a fixed dollar amount, rather than a percentage of an unknown - and potentially spiralling – amount.

“Any local body contributions must be absolutely fixed amounts; to promise an essentially open cheque-book would be totally unacceptable” said Mr Mitchell.


Further information from:

Richard Mitchell
OPSA President
(03) 477-6974 or 027-320-2956