NZ election: Luxon looks to build coalition
Published 17/10/2023
New Zealand’s new prime minister is looking to build his government after beating the incumbent Labour Party in the general election on October 14.
The National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, won 39% of the public vote ahead of Labour on 27%. Former PM Chris Hipkins conceded after polls closed, bringing an end to the Labour government that had been in power since 2017.
Jacinda Ardern was prime minister between 2017 and January 2023, when Hipkins took over the role.
As former education minister Hipkins was hailed by the sector as a politician who “knows the vital contributions” international students make to New Zealand. He also led on the country’s international education strategy released in 2022.
However, the incoming National Party also had an international education strategy and coming into the general election it said it would extend work hours for international students to 24 per week, in line with Australia.
Its manifesto also featured pledges on expanding work rights for the partners of international students and post-study work rights for postgraduate diploma holders will increase from one to two years.
Additionally, National said it will introduce fast-track visa processing for international students who pay an additional fee.
Luxon is said to be looking to build a coalition government with libertarian ACT Party and right-wing nationalist NZ First, which could take up to a month.
“We expect the new government to continue to support international students,” Brett Berquist, assistant vice-chancellor Engagement at University of Canterbury, told The PIE.
“New Zealand has been very much open to international students and migration for decades – it’s part of our founding story.”
While not yet confirmed, National’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Penny Simmonds is expected to become education minister.
Simmonds was previously chief executive at public tertiary education institute Southland Institute of Tech.
During her time there she was a vocal opponent of the plan to merge the country’s Industry Training Providers into a single entity, known as Te Pukenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.
Ahead of the election, Simmonds pointed to the drop in international education exports from $3.7 billion before the pandemic to $800 million in 2022.
Higher education in New Zealand has been expecting a funding review, with National looking to a similar solution that it had when it was in power before being ousted in 2017.
A number of institutions have seen layoffs including Otago, Victoria and Massey after drops in enrolment during the pandemic.
Boosting international education export revenue will create job opportunities, strengthen global connections and fund tertiary education, Simmonds said.
“The revenue raised from higher international fees allows our universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions to provide better quality education and services while keeping costs down for domestic students.”
While some stakeholders feel it may bring confidence to the sector, there are concerns that the strategy will mean a reliance on international student income.
Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford also said that other countries have adjusted their settings to attract international students, while Labour “failed to take any action to encourage students to choose New Zealand as their preferred place to study”.
“We expect the new government to continue to support international students”
“Making New Zealand more appealing for international students and reviving our once humming international education sector is part of National’s wider plan to rebuild the economy to get it working for all New Zealanders,” she said.
There are also concerns that the government is looking to international education as a pathway to migration and labour market supply. It could result in loopholes similar to those in other countries for unscrupulous providers to take advantage of, some suggest.
In 2017, the country’s qualifications authority NZQA closed a number of private training establishments due to poor educational performance and non-compliance – some have suggested that the National’s strategy could see a return to similar practices from parts of the sector.
Berquist on the other hand noted that New Zealand was the first destination in the world to mandate a pastoral code of care for international students and to create a national student experience position within Education New Zealand.
“We care about those things very much,” he added. “We remain an extremely welcoming country with some of the most progressive international student policies in the world.
“Overall, it’s steady as, New Zealand remains open for business and we don’t have really big policy swings such as those you see being discussed in the UK or Australia.”
The post NZ election: Luxon looks to build coalition appeared first on The PIE News.