New Zealand is to scrap its signature scheme that gave university students free tuition in their final year, the government has confirmed.
Ministers have announced that this year’s cohort will be the last to benefit from the policy, first introduced by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government in 2018.
The move is expected to be confirmed in the country’s budget that is due on 28 May.
Finance minister Nicola Willis was forced to reveal details of the plan early after her coalition colleague Winston Peters, the leader of the right-wing New Zealand First party, revealed it was in the pipeline in a radio interview.
In a self-described “budget leak”, Peters, who serves as minister of foreign affairs, told Newstalk ZB that offering free fees was “wasteful spending” and it would be cut.
