Independent views By Brendan Horan

This is yet another SOS from the NZ Independent Coalition – we have a number of initiatives to save our students.

First will be an overhaul of Studylink, to remove the frustrating bureaucracy our students report to.

We'll reduce wait time, increase staff and provide a universal liveable student allowance. We have a number of other policies to deliver at our official launch – next Tuesday, July 29, at Omanu Surf Club from 6pm, so come along.

Last statistics report more than 1000 Kiwis continue to pack their bags and leave for new horizons overseas.

The Government is somewhat carefree in respect to the number of continuing job losses and the flight of our intelligence overseas.

The Canterbury rebuild isn't proving to be the resolution to lack of employment this Government may have hoped.

Interestingly, there's reported growth in the number of under 25-year-olds staying at home and preferring to continue their tertiary study in a home-based environment.

Youth are also staying at school longer, and this has necessitated a divergent school curricular to cope with changing student demands and learning needs.

The NZ Independent Coalition believe we need to urgently revive education and employment creation, through isolating job skills and competencies that will be required with the rapid emergence of yet-to-be-realised new technologies.

Those just entering our workforce, through to our seniors, must have opportunity to continually upskill, be tolerant and adapt to change and feel empowered to manage this.

Also we must realise the need to encourage growth and sustainability of small businesses –most pertinent to Tauranga – and make sacrifices through tax breaks to enable businesses to survive and build with the times.

Equally, we advocate for a fair wage economy, not the minimum wage, and this applies to many high flyers, who in our view, take more than a fair wage.

Our youth currently in study deserve opportunity in their homeland, they deserve to be equipped with competencies relevant to their times and deserve fair remuneration for their efforts.

If you'd like to discuss this or any other issue please contact me.

www.facebook.com/Brendan.horan.336
twitter.com/brendanhoran or Phone Brendan on 07 574 0253.