HEKE appeal paying off

HEKE appeal paying off

A sharp rise in expat graduates paying off their student loans is good news for Christchurch says the founder of the Heroic Educated Kiwi Expatriate (HEKE) campaign, Victoria University Professor Sir Paul Callaghan.

The HEKE campaign to encourage overseas New Zealanders to pay off their student loans has been given a boost by IRD figures for April showing a 43% increase in student loan repayments over the last year.

"And the value of a positive response has never been more obvious," says Sir Paul.

"The recent Christchurch aftershocks and the need for government to provide some financial assurance to residents in badly affected areas, has rammed home to us how much New Zealand has taken an economic hit. The effect on New Zealand's economy is two or three times that of Japan's earthquake and tsunami on their economy and eight times the effect of Hurricane Katrina on the USA."

Sir Paul says that while there was no way to gauge if the increase was a direct result of the HEKE campaign, it was extremely encouraging news. "Before the campaign started the February 2011 repayments were the same as in 2010. But with the launch of the campaign in late March, both the March and April repayments from overseas have shown a significant increase over last year, up $1.8 million in March and up $2.5 million in April," says Sir Paul.

"Work being down by the Government in this area, and students coming off their loan holiday may be a factor, but a 43 percent increase is huge, and we need to keep that momentum going."

He says if the higher level of repayment is sustained, it would represent a significant contribution to New Zealand's ability to rebuild Christchurch.

New Zealander of the Year Professor Sir Paul Callaghan launched the HEKE campaign in March after the devastating February earthquake in Christchurch. The campaign asks expat Kiwi graduates to make a significant contribution to the Christchurch earthquake recovery mission by paying back their student loans.

ends

© Scoop Media