Media Release
Labour's $583m student loan election policy shows it is focused on the wrong part of the education system
MEDIA RELEASE
5 October 2026
Labour's $583m student loan election policy shows it is focused on the wrong part of the education system
Labour's promise to wipe 10 per cent off student loans would cost $583 million over five years.
"This shows Labour is focused on the wrong part of the education system,” said Parents' Alliance chair Cameron Bagrie. "Graduates who stay here already pay no interest. Meanwhile teachers are stressed out and the child who has fallen behind by Year 3 waits months for help."
Labour's fiscal plan, released yesterday, has no line for learning support. The five-year cost of the write-off is:
● more than 13 times the $43 million Budget 2025 put into 78.5 FTE speech language therapists, with additional psychologists
● more than twice the $266 million to extend the Early Intervention Service (EIS), which supports children with additional needs from early learning services through to the end of Year 1
● nearly five times the $122 million to meet demand in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) for students with high and complex needs
● about 19 million hours of learning support
"Too many children wait too long to receive support, or miss out altogether," said Bagrie.
The new 20-week phonics check shows who those children are. In Term 3 2025, 42% of new entrants were still below expectations. In high equity (low decile) schools it was 65%. Spotting a child who is struggling is only the first step. They need support to catch up.
More than 3,000 children were on the Early Intervention Service waitlist when Budget 2025 expanded it, and the average wait in 2024 was over four months. For a four-year-old, that is a big share of the time left before they start school.
“A struggling child needs a teacher who knows what to do next,” said Mr Bagrie. “The OECD links teacher knowledge to student results. Put the money into training, coaching and specialists.”
“And it has to reach rural schools,” he said. “Small schools have fewer colleagues to learn from and specialists a long way away. Rural kids should not wait longer for help.”
"Every party says it backs kids," said Mr Bagrie. "Here is the test. Take the half a billion dollars and put it where the need is. Parents will be watching who does."
The Parents' Alliance is calling on every party to commit, before election day, to putting more into learning support, including:
● more funding for the Early Intervention Service (EIS) for speech language therapists and educational psychologists to strengthen school readiness, engagement and self-regulation
● a funded refresher after the three-day Structured Literacy course
● a clear start date, length and quality assurance for the Budget 2026 training in High-Impact Explicit Teaching for Years 0–10 teachers
● in-school coaching so teachers can put their learning into practice
● more specialist Structured Literacy intervention teachers, with hours that match the Years 0 to 6 role and access through to Year 10
● Structured Literacy training for teacher aides
All of it must reach small, rural and remote schools, with funding for school travel, relief teacher and online delivery so teachers can take part without leaving their classes uncovered.
Media contact: Cameron Bagrie, Chair and Spokesperson, The Parents’ Alliance 027 290 9844
Follow us on Facebook LinkedIn and Instagram
About the Parents' Alliance: The Parents' Alliance The Parents’ Alliance Te Kotahitanga o ngā Mātua, Le Lotogatasi o Mātua, 家长联盟, पारिवारिक मंच is a national group building a collective voice for parents, grandparents and whānau in education.
 |