The ACT Party has called a $128 million cash injection for universities a "taxpayer-funded bail out" created by Labour's "inability to see the bigger picture", including its Covid-19 response.
The Government announced the package today, which is aimed at bolstering universities who are proposing cuts to academic programmes so they can cope with financial pressures.
The Government has also announced a two-year review into the sector's funding.
In response, ACT leader David Seymour said an "abundance of caution around Covid has become an abundance of costs on New Zealanders".
"By inflexibly locking down the borders with no regard for how that would affect various industries, the Government set [universities] on a path where the only way they would ever recover is through handouts."
He said losses in international education had been projected in 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the Government had "decimated" it because it was "blind to the wider issues of human well-being".
"They were also late to the rebuild. At the beginning of 2022 the rest of the world was welcoming international students back, New Zealand on the other hand was in the 'red traffic light' phase because of 20-something Omicron cases. To put that into perspective, yesterday there were 7702 new cases reported, yet life goes on.
"The $128 million being given to universities is the result of Labour's inability to see the bigger picture, whether it's in the case of their bloody-minded response to Covid or their resulting obsession with throwing money at everything."
Wellington's Victoria University says one-third of jobs on the line could be saved. (Source: 1News)
He said ACT had called for a "risk-weighted" approach in July 2020 for "this exact reason" — "allowing low-risk travellers to still travel here safely so industries like international education could survive".
"Labour has no one to blame but itself for all these taxpayer-funded bailouts. What they need to realise is that there's a better way."
National Party education spokeswoman Penny Simmonds said the "bail out" was the "result of its own [Labour's] economic mismanagement", as well as a "delay" in opening the border to allow international students back in.
"The Labour Government has nobody to blame but itself for the financial strife that New Zealand's universities are in."
She said the dearth of international students had "hammered universities" and the "high inflation fallout of [Labour's] economic mismanagement has made the situation even worse".
"Instead of focusing on the tertiary sector's major challenges, Labour has been preoccupied with its failing polytechnic mega-merger, which has only worsened New Zealand's vocational sector.
"More than 20,000 international students were studying in New Zealand when Labour took office. Last year, the number was less than 6000.
"Covid had a major impact on this, but the Government moved at a snail's pace to bring these students back."
She said the Government's "imposition of strict regulation" on post-study work visas had also impacted international enrolments.
"Many [opted] to study in other countries where they could work and support themselves.
"Labour's mismanagement has decimated the international student market in this country and, in doing so, has cost our universities millions, while the high inflation fallout of Labour's economic mismanagement has made the situation even worse.
"Today's bailout does not come as a surprise given Labour's approach to the tertiary sector, but it shouldn't have been needed at all."
She said National would disestablish Te Pūkenga, focus on bringing international students back and getting inflation under control.
However, the Green Party lauded the announcement, with tertiary education spokeswoman Chlöe Swarbrick saying it would "patch up" university funding.
"This Budget reallocation is a practical step to address immediate needs. Crucially, it buys the Government time for well-overdue work on a sustainable funding model for tertiary education."
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