29 April 2011 Student loans and earthquake recovery, Sir Paul makes the connection

It’s one of New Zealand’s hot discussion topics of the moment and the most distinguished contributor to the debate is  airing the subject at Lincoln University on Tuesday 3 May.  Here’s your chance to hear all about it at first hand and make up your own mind!

The topic is the repayment of student loans by Kiwi graduates living overseas. New Zealand graduates working or residing abroad have a total debt to the New Zealand Government of over $2 billion. Through the HEKE  -  Heroic Educated Kiwi Expatriates  -  project,  New Zealander of the Year Professor Sir Paul Callaghan has appealed to expat graduates to pay back their student loans.

Over 85,000 New Zealanders with student loans are living overseas and since the HEKE appeal was launched in March the pros and cons of repayment obligations and provisions have been debated in the news media and on social media sites with discussion quickly expanding to the student loan system in general.

Sir Paul has focussed on repayments as a means of assisting Christchurch’s earthquake recovery. To help meet the massive financial cost of rebuilding the city, he has appealed to Kiwis with student loans who are living abroad to think of their obligations to New Zealand.

He particularly appeals to the 35,000 Kiwis overseas who are behind in their repayments.

Sir Paul will be in Christchurch on Tuesday 3 May taking a firsthand look at the earthquake devastation and while here he will address a public meeting on the HEKE project at Lincoln University at 12 midday.  The venue is Room D6 in the School of Landscape Architecture Building. All welcome. Free admission.

Find out more at www.lincoln.ac.nz/heke.