Christopher Luxon, New Zealand Prime Minister 2023

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Forums › Politics › Christopher Luxon, New Zealand Prime Minister 2023

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#3488936 8-May-2026 19:53

Handle9:

I trust similar jibes about arts grads and lawyers being wholly unqualified to comment on other topics will be in order?

100%. I'm opinionated, not discriminatory.

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GV27

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#3488975 8-May-2026 22:23

Seems like a good time to remind the thread that Roger Douglas was an accountant.

So yea if that's your flavour of Finance Minister, so be it I guess?

NZ history is full of qualified people who made awful ministers and vice versa.

gzt

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#3489289 9-May-2026 20:58

NZHerald: Sherman also clarified the details of the recent reporting around her actions. “Almost a year ago, I made an offensive comment to a fellow journalist during an after-hours function in the Minister of Finance’s office. “There is no excuse for the language I used.” She went on to say that she apologised to the journalist and the minister the next morning. Sherman said she also informed her manager.

It may be fair to say the government's new media strategy has claimed it's first win.

MikeAqua

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#3489687 11-May-2026 09:47

SaltyNZ:

Hmmm I sent myself a link to an article that has firmware to jailbreak most models of Kindle, which I keep meaning to get around to. The Kindle device itself is great but I too cancelled Prime Video and won't be buying any more ebooks on it. Must try it this weekend.

I have the Kindle App, not the device. Once I get through all my current backlog of purchased titles, I'll look at another provider. Maybe Libby. One thing I do like about Kindle is they have a lot of content in the fiction genres I like. It's rare to see a book I want to read and not be able to buy it via kindle.

Mike

rb99

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#3489703 11-May-2026 11:55

Hey students, vote for National and get a free extra $10000 debt.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/594810/fees-free-university-scheme-didn-t-achieve-any-goals-christopher-luxon-says

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

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#3489705 11-May-2026 12:02

rb99:

Hey students, vote for National and get a free extra $10000 debt.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/594810/fees-free-university-scheme-didn-t-achieve-any-goals-christopher-luxon-says

Yep, our son started Uni too late to get first year free and will be finishing too late to get final year free. Luxon government: ****ing the future of our kids and the economy at the same time. At last, some value for money.

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rb99

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#3489708 11-May-2026 12:17

SaltyNZ:

rb99:

Hey students, vote for National and get a free extra $10000 debt.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/594810/fees-free-university-scheme-didn-t-achieve-any-goals-christopher-luxon-says

Yep, our son started Uni too late to get first year free and will be finishing too late to get final year free. Luxon government: ****ing the future of our kids and the economy at the same time. At last, some value for money.

Typical. Son is doing a years course. He might get fees free. He might decide to carry on for another year at the next level, by which time....

Still, luckily there's no way this could ever be classed as a tax increase, it thats that, no problem.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

MikeAqua

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#3489715 11-May-2026 13:11

[Monty Python voice] Look-shurry!

I attended uni with interest bearing student loans and paid fees. My first year Uni fees were equivalent to 330 hours at minimum wage (gross). I ended up with about 35k of debt, which was about 1.5x average individual income. My first salary was 35k a year (gross)🤣. By the time I paid it all off, it had cost me at least >50k. Those would have been typical numbers for post-grad qualified professionals of my cohort. We managed.

In my best years as a professional, I've taken home that 50k in a quarter. My education (in a thoughtfully chosen field) has proven to be a great investment. I don't begrudge the fees, the loan or the interest. I'm grateful the govt stumped up 80% of the cost of uni.

Also: It would be nice to see some debate on Luxon's and Willis's statements that the free-fees scheme hasn't delivered on its objectives. The free-to-read reporting I've seen hasn't gone into that.

Mike

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#3489716 11-May-2026 13:13

We've been fortunate that both ours benefitted from first years free @ university, however I did like the change to the last year being free, not the first as it meant students had skin in the game if they didn't complete their studies, under first year free, no so much.

I think as a society we have put too much emphasis on academia when vocational education offers many great opportunities for solid career paths. A uni degree no longer offers job surety like it did a decade or two ago, however many trades are screaming out for apprentices to come into the industry and its not uncommon for employers to subsidize and reward achievement throughout the qualification.

Would be an interesting snap poll / survey - how many frontline staff (McDonalds, supermarkets, retail etc) hold uni degrees vs how many hold a trade qualification. Not exactly a scientific measure by any stretch, but I'd hazard a guess there'd be less tradies.

MikeAqua

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#3489773 11-May-2026 13:41

sen8or:

I think as a society we have put too much emphasis on academia when vocational education offers many great opportunities for solid career paths. A uni degree no longer offers job surety like it did a decade or two ago, however many trades are screaming out for apprentices to come into the industry and its not uncommon for employers to subsidize and reward achievement throughout the qualification.

We need both. I don't think any higher education is wasted .... uni, tech, police, college, armed forces, apprenticeships and teachers colleges (if we still have any...). They all improve people. I do sometimes wonder if the govt should more heavily subsidise areas where we need more workers development - for example healthcare. But we'd need to be able to retain people.

Mike

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#3489830 11-May-2026 14:09

MikeAqua:

[Monty Python voice] Look-shurry!

I attended uni with interest bearing student loans and paid fees. My first year Uni fees were equivalent to 330 hours at minimum wage (gross). I ended up with about 35k of debt, which was about 1.5x average individual income. My first salary was 35k a year (gross)🤣. By the time I paid it all off, it had cost me at least >50k. Those would have been typical numbers for post-grad qualified professionals of my cohort. We managed.

In my best years as a professional, I've taken home that 50k in a quarter. My education (in a thoughtfully chosen field) has proven to be a great investment. I don't begrudge the fees, the loan or the interest. I'm grateful the govt stumped up 80% of the cost of uni.

Also: It would be nice to see some debate on Luxon's and Willis's statements that the free-fees scheme hasn't delivered on its objectives. The free-to-read reporting I've seen hasn't gone into that.

I paid about $1500 / semester in HECS, the Australian scheme at the time. I don't begrudge the debt either. But: first of anything, educating ourselves is the absolute best investment we can make in our own economy. From that perspective, casting the net wide to bring in as many people as possible is a no-brainer, even if some of them decide it isn't for them. Secondly, the debt has grown a lot more quickly than the initial salary or even the prospects of even getting a job. I think we're at something like 23% underutilisation (or whatever they call it when you either can't get a job or can't get enough of a job) for youth at the moment.

If we want to improve the economy faster and keep more of our young people from permanently buggering off to Australia as soon as they have enough for a plane ticket we need to be lowering the ladder down, not shrugging and saying "well, I never had a ladder and I survived".

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SaltyNZ

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#3489832 11-May-2026 14:14

sen8or:

We've been fortunate that both ours benefitted from first years free @ university, however I did like the change to the last year being free, not the first as it meant students had skin in the game if they didn't complete their studies, under first year free, no so much.

I think as a society we have put too much emphasis on academia when vocational education offers many great opportunities for solid career paths. A uni degree no longer offers job surety like it did a decade or two ago, however many trades are screaming out for apprentices to come into the industry and its not uncommon for employers to subsidize and reward achievement throughout the qualification.

Would be an interesting snap poll / survey - how many frontline staff (McDonalds, supermarkets, retail etc) hold uni degrees vs how many hold a trade qualification. Not exactly a scientific measure by any stretch, but I'd hazard a guess there'd be less tradies.

That's not really an argument to not have first year fees free at university. It's an argument for the government to pay for first year costs for trade schools and apprenticeships as well.

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MikeAqua

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#3489895 11-May-2026 15:35

SaltyNZ:

If we want to improve the economy faster and keep more of our young people from permanently buggering off to Australia as soon as they have enough for a plane ticket we need to be lowering the ladder down, not shrugging and saying "well, I never had a ladder and I survived".

My generation absolutely had a ladder. 80% subsidy of uni fees. That policy persists. Fees-free was supposed to encourage more and different people on the ladder. According to the govt it hasn't. I don't know whether that's accurate or not (I haven't seen any data).

University is also more flexible than it used to be, with online lectures etc. Shift work outside of study hours is much more available than it was. Support for women, Maori, LGBT etc ... is massively improved. There have never been fewer barriers.

I'm not sure encouraging participation in tertiary education necessarily improves the economy. There still needs to be an economic base.

Mike

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#3489904 11-May-2026 15:52

SaltyNZ:

sen8or:

We've been fortunate that both ours benefitted from first years free @ university, however I did like the change to the last year being free, not the first as it meant students had skin in the game if they didn't complete their studies, under first year free, no so much.

I think as a society we have put too much emphasis on academia when vocational education offers many great opportunities for solid career paths. A uni degree no longer offers job surety like it did a decade or two ago, however many trades are screaming out for apprentices to come into the industry and its not uncommon for employers to subsidize and reward achievement throughout the qualification.

Would be an interesting snap poll / survey - how many frontline staff (McDonalds, supermarkets, retail etc) hold uni degrees vs how many hold a trade qualification. Not exactly a scientific measure by any stretch, but I'd hazard a guess there'd be less tradies.

That's not really an argument to not have first year fees free at university. It's an argument for the government to pay for first year costs for trade schools and apprenticeships as well.

It wasn't meant to be, just my own observation. I think we should have more funding for trade schools / apprenticeships. I think it was Labour who had some sort of scheme for employers that was scrapped a few years ago (some time around Covid etc)

SaltyNZ

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#3489944 11-May-2026 17:56

MikeAqua:

I'm not sure encouraging participation in tertiary education necessarily improves the economy. There still needs to be an economic base.

Well, yeah. That's why I think it ought to be extended to trade schools and apprenticeship support as well.

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