Winston Peters is attempting to branch out from his usual grey-haired support base and woo the student population in the lead-up to the 2011 General Election.

In a speech to the Grey Power AGM in Hamilton last week, Peters announced New Zealand First wants to match student loan repayments dollar for dollar.

“We will introduce a scheme where government will make a matching dollar-for-dollar payment on student debt,” said Peters.

“So, if a student living in New Zealand has a student loan of say $30,000 (a not unlikely sum) and paid back $15,000, government would match that sum to extinguish the debt.”

Peters believes this would remove the incentives for students to look for greener pastures overseas.

He stated the programme would be self-sufficient because once students were in the workforce their taxes would cover the costs.

New Zealand First believes student debt is a problem that needs to be solved.
“The piling up of student debt into the billions has got to end,” said Peters.

“We will face up to it before it inflicts more damage on yet another generation of young New Zealanders.”

True to form, Peters’ speech also included benefits for SuperGold card holders, such as discounted power bills.