Labour's policy appeals to young

Young voters are backing Labour for an election win, but half of them admit the key tertiary loan policy will encourage students to borrow more.

A survey by youth marketing consultancy 18tracker.com shows 49 per cent say they will vote Labour in September.

Of those, 14 per cent say they have switched political allegiance because of Labour's plan to scrap interest on student loans.

More than 70 per cent of those in the survey agree that Labour's plan will "encourage graduates to stay in New Zealand and contribute to our economy and society".

But 50 per cent also said the "most likely" effect of the policy would be more people borrowing from the loan scheme.

And almost one-third said National's tax rebates policy was more likely to encourage people to pay off their loans quicker.

However, in a written-answer forum in the on-line poll, many poured scorn on the idea that students would take out large interest-free loans and store or invest the money.

While some people who responded said it was logical, the vast majority did not believe it would happen.

"Students don't think that way - only ministers of finance think like that," one said.

"Students don't take more money than they need 'cause they only think about how much they will have to pay back."

There were 142 people involved in the survey.

Spencer Willis, managing director of 18Ltd, the company behind the 18tracker poll, said distinct camps were emerging and those who were aware of the policies were Labour-leaning.

There was also a large "social currency" involved, with almost one in five people learning about different policies from family or friends, Mr Willis said.