The Government has ripped more than a billion dollars out of Fees Free and returned just $155 million to tertiary education, leaving students, apprentices and institutions to fight over scraps.

“There is no serious investment in vocational education. Nothing meaningful for apprenticeships which have been already seen cuts. Nothing to help the more than 100,000 young New Zealanders currently out of work,” Labour tertiary education spokesperson Shanan Halbert said.

“Students are already struggling during this Government’s cost of living crisis and National is making it even harder. Budget 2026 raises tertiary fees again - an almost 20 percent rise in three years - while food, electricity, petrol and public transport costs continue to soar.

“At the exact moment New Zealand needs more skilled workers, more apprentices and more opportunities for young people, this Government has walked away from an entire generation.

“You cannot grow the economy while gutting the system that trains the future workforce. You cannot lift productivity while pricing students out of education and starving institutions of funding.

“A country that gives up on public education gives up on its future. Labour will always fight to protect public tertiary education and ensure every young New Zealander has access to skills, training and opportunity,” Shanan Halbert said.