Funding reviews and medical places in frame in New Zealand poll

Funding reform and medical education have emerged as the higher education battleground issues in New Zealand’s 14 October election, as the major parties adopt an identical approach to tuition fees.

Neither the governing Labour nor the opposition National party plans to change the current student contribution policy, whereby fees are not levied for the initial year of tertiary studies. National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis said ending the policy was not under consideration, even though her party had vowed to axe the “fees-free farce” before the previous 2020 election.

Education minister Jan Tinetti labelled fees-free “a good policy”, even though it has failed to boost higher education enrolments or make them more inclusive.

Fees-free was credited with helping to snare a 2017 election win for Labour, which soon abandoned its plan to extend the arrangement to latter-year students. With university fees now defused as an election issue, medical education has emerged as a point of contention.

National wants to establish a third medical school at the University of Waikato, while Labour has vowed to expand places at the existing schools at the universities of Auckland and Otago. It has also promised more university places in nursing and dentistry.

The University of Waikato has raised eyebrows by cosying up to the opposition, with claims that it helped to write National’s medical school policy and paid almost NZ$1 million (£489,000) in consultancy fees to former National minister Steven Joyce. Waikato has made several key appointments to its health school in anticipation of a National victory, amid polls tipping a change of government.

National, in coalition with the right-leaning Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (Act) Party, is considered to have the edge over Labour and the left-leaning Green and Māori parties.

Act wants to abolish the fees-free arrangement, while the Green Party wants to abolish all tertiary fees, write off student debts and introduce a universal student allowance of at least NZ$385 a week. The Māori Party likewise supports a universal student allowance along with free public transport for all students.

Charles Sturt University political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan, who is also an adjunct professor at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), said the major parties had not traditionally perceived “big” votes in higher education. “Where there are votes…is in what is offered to students,” he said. “But if there’s not a viable university sector because it’s been underfunded, then we’re not really doing much for students in the long run.”

He said neither major party had “much of a vision” to address the funding problems responsible for major staff-shedding proposals at AUT, Massey University, the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington.

Labour has promised a review of higher education funding, as has the Green Party, but National reportedly has no such plan. “If it goes into coalition with the Act Party, [that] wouldn’t be a priority,” Professor O’Sullivan said.

While a National-Act coalition seems well placed to form the next government, the unpredictable New Zealand First Party – whose founding leader Winston Peters has been deputy to both National and Labour prime ministers – could again play a kingmaker’s role.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com