Good morning,

I joanna Milroy am writing to you all today as the voice of most students studying. The announcement made yesterday for students to receive and additional $1000 course related costs was a lovely gesture, but it is not good enough. That $1000 just adds more debt to the already high debt that we occur to better our future for us and all New Zealand. We are the future nurses, doctors, teachers, policy makers, psychologists, doctors, counsellors, social workers and many more. The offer was a slap in the face to most students, do not get us wrong it may help some but not all. We as students think it is fair to have access to the winter energy payment or an increase to our student allowance. We struggle as much as any other beneficiary. I myself am a single mother of two my power bill does not decrease because I am on the student allowance, we are just as vulnerable as everyone else in New Zealand.  We struggle our butts off to meet deadlines, raise children, better our future, work part-time or full-time keep a roof over our head, pay our power, buy food for the government to say here put yourself in more debt. The wage subsidy for most employers or employees you do not have to pay back, the $25 dollar increase to beneficiaries and the double winter energy payment you do not have to pay back, yet we students get an extra $1000 that WE have to pay BACK. What we want as students is weekly ongoing costs to help us get through this crisis. We were not even thought of until just recently, we feel we have fallen through the cracks. We do not ask for much just that we are equal in all of this as we feel we are not. 

We ask that you look at this petition and hear the voices of students throughout New Zealand and consider us as we play an important part in New Zealand. 
 
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Assistance for students during Covid-19