Students march to demand living allowance for all

By STUART DYE

Students staged a national day of protest yesterday in a fresh bid to persuade the Government to introduce a living allowance for all students.

In Wellington there was a rally at Victoria University and a march to MP Marian Hobbs' electorate office. In Hamilton students marched from the university and polytechnic and in Auckland they protested outside Prime Minister Helen Clark's electorate office.

"We have written and met with MPs, presented them with a petition from over 35,000 people, but still Helen Clark refuses to accept that a living allowance for all students is the best way to address the $7 billion student debt monster," said Fleur Fitzsimons, co-president of the University Students Association.

Helen Clark has already promised to widen eligibility for allowances in this year's Budget, but universal allowances are unlikely.

Ms Fitzsimons said the rally was a last-ditch attempt to change Government thinking. Students were frustrated that the Government would not address the anomaly that students were the only group in society forced to borrow to live.