Yesterday, the New Zealand Labour Party announced an "election bribe" for 461,000 New Zealanders by saying they would no longer pay interest on student loans from April next year. (See: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10337799)
It does sound like a great idea, especially to encourage graduates to stay in New Zealand. I'm a university graduate who has stayed in NZ to work. However, since I left university about 6 years ago my student loan has not decreased at all - I am barely making enough to pay off the interest. Will they credit all that interest back to me? I doubt it!
Anyway, my $32,000 student loan will still take years and years to pay off, so it's not going to make me change me vote to Labour!
By the way, I bet National are kicking themselves that they didn't think off it first!
Views on Palmerston North City, New Zealand, and international news and current affairs
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Humans back into space
After two and a half years the Space Shuttle is finally back into space, when the Discovery lifted off this morning (See: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/07/26/space.shuttle/index.html)
It is great to have humans back into space again, but being a Star Trek fan I think this is all a bit primative! They've got a long way to go until humans are sent to Mars (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/episodes/VOY/detail/108170.html) or till the first warp ship is built! (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/episodes/MOV/detail/88.html)
It is great to have humans back into space again, but being a Star Trek fan I think this is all a bit primative! They've got a long way to go until humans are sent to Mars (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/episodes/VOY/detail/108170.html) or till the first warp ship is built! (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/episodes/MOV/detail/88.html)