Michael Johnston: Let's trade the fees-free tertiary funding for something that works

PremiumOpinionOpinion byMichael JohnstonNZ Herald·27 May, 2026 09:00 PM5 mins to readMichael Johnston is a senior fellow at The New Zealand Initiative. He leads the Initiative’s work on education.New Zealand’s fees-free policy was designed to widen access to higher education, but participation gaps for disadvantaged students remain stubbornly entrenched. Photo / Getty ImagesThe worst-kept secret of this afternoon’s Budget is that the entitlement to a fees-free year of tertiary study will be scrapped. On May 8, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters “leaked” the policy change on Newstalk ZB. Finance Minister Nicola Willis subsequently confirmed Peters’ claim.

The fees-free policy was implemented