As the youth representatives of your parties, who are currently in, or have just been through, tertiary education, what is your long-term vision for the tertiary sector in New Zealand?

Vic Labour

VicLabour recognises the world is changing. To enable success in this environment we must strive to reach the most highly-educated work force in the competitive global economy.

Universities, polytechnics, and trade apprenticeships should be cost free, with an increase in accessibility to student allowances, enabling us to focus on study rather than having to work. Universities would also be more specialised in particular fields like Otago for Health Sciences and Victoria for Law. More government funding to universities would reduce the need for tertiary education providers to advertise like a private company, reducing unnecessary competition thereby improving quality, because in the end, education is a public good.

Also screw STEM subjects — why do they get all the money? Let’s have every field get a fair amount of funding so areas like VUW’s language department don’t have to suffer through funding cuts by letting go of staff.

Young Nats — Lower North Island

With the ever-changing nature of work and a shifting productive economy, tertiary education needs to ensure it keeps pace with the world around it, not only in terms of equipping graduates with the skills they need to gain meaningful long-term employment, but also to be contributing members of an increasingly diverse and multicultural society.

However, achieving this has to be seen as a long term goal, with the student body alongside educators and university directors shaping the future of tertiary education. We want a system that makes New Zealand, and New Zealand graduates, even more competitive on the world stage and that helps unleash the potential of NZ creativity and innovation.

Tertiary education is ever evolving and we look forward to the shape that it takes in the future

— Sam Stead

Greens at Vic

Tertiary education has come under sustained attack in the last 33 years. The introduction of student loans; voluntary instead of opt-out student unionism; cutting funds to student unions; ensuring that the student allowance is means-tested and is not enough money to live on — these are merely some of the ways that the neoliberal assault on the university has manifested.  

Successive governments have had the agenda of stifling student activism and forcing students to live life worrying about debt and our future prospects. Rather than focusing on changing the world, they have succeeded in depoliticising the student population.  

Greens at Vic believe that students have a vital role as the conscience of society. To reclaim our place as that bold progressive voice, students must rise up to demand free education for all, compulsory, well-funded and properly politicised student unions, and a universal student allowance which is actually enough money to live on. To do this we need to start a movement to end the neoliberal university and fight for a progressive future!  

— Elliot Crossan, Young Greens Co-Convenor