Wellington university students called for universal debt-free living costs and urgent Government action on student poverty during a protest outside Grant Robertson's office on Tuesday.
Students are calling for a Study Wage for All - a campaign run by Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) which calls for debt-free student allowances.
The students are asking Minister of Finance Grant Robertson to "return to his roots as a student advocate" and to "ensure all students can live with dignity and focus on their studies" - a cause which Robertson himself once advocated for.
From 7:30-8:30am students were seen standing on the pavement outside Robertson's office with placards and banners calling for Government action.
They believe the introduction of a universal study wage for tertiary students would ensure students can "live with dignity and focus on their studies".
"We envision the Study Wage for All would initially be set at $385 a week and annually re-calculated to ensure students can make ends meet," VUWSA's summary reads.
"We are proposing that all tertiary students will be eligible for a Universal Study Wage."
One of the banners seen at the protest quoted the Minister in 1996 when he was the President of the National Union of Students Associations.
"Only 37 percent of full-time students get any kind of allowance, the main culprit here is the National Government's absurd means-testing programme - Grant Robertson 1996," the banner read.
"Now less than 20% [of students] receive an allowance," the students added underneath in bold black text.
"Since the introduction of means-testing for student allowances in 1991, Labour and National have promised at different points to re-introduce universal allowances, yet means-testing has become stricter over time and eligibility for student allowances has decreased," VUWSA said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Last year the Labour Government ruled out implementing universal student allowances."
"The means-tested system is dehumanising and doesn't provide enough support even to those who are eligible. Those who are not eligible, which is the vast majority of students, usually receive Living Costs payments which add to their student loan," VUWSA Campaigns Officer Hana Pilkinton-Ching said.
"Students are going into debt each week just to survive, but it doesn't have to be this way," she added.
"A Study Wage recognises that learning is an inherently valuable contribution to society. Valuing education as a public good means that we must see a more sustainable funding model for tertiary institutions and make tertiary education accessible to all," VUWSA President Jessica Ye said.
"The tertiary underfunding crisis and student poverty crisis go hand in hand".
Ye believes without reform of the student allowance system, "we will continue to see tertiary enrolments decreasing".
VUWSA said they want to see urgent action on student debt and student poverty.
