Thursday, January 31, 2008



National accepts the inevitable - but can they be trusted?

National has finally accepted the inevitable and endorsed the government's interest-free student loan policy. They're even offering an early-repayment bonus (though a fairly miserly one, which is asking to be gazumped). But their reasoning for this leaves a lot to be desired. They're not accepting it because its good policy which lifts the burden of debt from the young, but because

"We lost the election."
Of course, if they're so quick to flip-flop when they lose an election, you also have to wonder whether they'll be just as quick in flip-flopping if they win.