Kerre Woodham: The more they crack down, the better

I read the Stuff story this morning and thought, "Oh, cry me a river!" Do the student loan evaders who finally get nabbed really expect sympathy when they bleat to the media?

Stuff this morning has the story of Vic, not his real name. He was at Wellington Airport last month heading home to Australia where he's lived and worked as a medical specialist for three, how many Kerry? Three decades, 30 years, when three police officers approached. He was arrested, spent three nights in custody, and at a court hearing had his passport confiscated. He's still here, Stuff writes, a month later, unable to work.

Vic hadn't committed a criminal offence, Stuff writes, but he owes, IRD calculates, student loan arrears of almost $180,000 He's just the 13 th person arrested at the border in the last decade for student loan debts.

Vic's brother Bob, not his real name, has an even bigger bill of about $310,000 a debt he says he'll be paying off until he dies, unless he can negotiate a reduced deal.

The brothers came home to care for an ailing father. They accept they owe the money and they accept they should have responded to IRD's repeated attempts to contact them. Ya think?

But say it's only been in recent years they realised how much they owed, despite the fact that these overseas loan defaulters say they're the best and the brightest. Oh, didn't realise when we signed a contract and when IRD got in touch with us that if we didn't pay it back there'd be interest and penalties on the loan. These are our best and brightest.

That combined from those two brothers is almost half a million dollars, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the $2.3 billion owed by about 113,000 overseas based borrowers. They signed the contract to borrow the money off the taxpayer, they know they owe the money. When they don't pay it back and IRD contacts them, they refuse to acknowledge they owe the money because they're going through a lot at the time, easier to bury your head in the sand, and then they cry poor me when they realise how much they owe.

Makes my blood boil. Taxpayers already pay 70 to 80 percent of the cost of their degrees. They're asked to contribute a small amount. Can you imagine what that specialist is earning in Australia? According to Google, it starts, a specialist in Australia starts at a quarter of a million Australian, goes up to a million dollars Australian. That moron could have the loan paid back in a couple of years and go and pay his equally dopey brother's debt off as well.

IRD was given extra enforcement funding in the '24 budget and began cracking down on serious debtors last year. Revenue Minister Simon Watts said IRD had exceeded its targets, collecting $544 million in bad debt since then, when the target was $395 million. Long way to go till we get the $2.3 bill back that these shysters have in effect stolen from the New Zealand taxpayers, but it's a start.

One of the reasons why the overseas based borrowers build up such mammoth arrears is because while onshore Kiwis don't pay interest on their loans, someone who's been offshore for 180 days sees the government charge 5.6 interest on their debt. For those in arrears, another 9.6 in penalties is added.

The brothers say, Oh, we only actually borrowed about $60,000 between them in the early 1990 s." By Vic's maths, his debt has gone up 800 percent. Well, his maths should have kicked in earlier, shouldn't it? When he realised how much the loan's arrears and the interest was going to cost him. If he can do the maths, he should have done it a whole lot sooner.

An April law change allows IRD discretion to remit interest. Previously they could only forgive penalties, and that move was opposed by both Treasury and the Ministry of Education, but Simon Watts said the changes were a practical way to recover debt that might otherwise never be repaid. And I think he's probably right. Better to get some of it back than none at all.

Vic says he's had depression and cancer and that meant that he just buried his head in the sand when it came to his debt. You think the people who helped pay for his medical degree don't experience hardship as well? Do you think the people here who helped fund him into his high paying career don't get depression and cancer as well? And maybe, just maybe, if those loan defaulters paid back what they owe the taxpayer, we would have more money to help people who suffer from depression and cancer in this country. I have no sympathy. The more they crack down, the better.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Morning's podcast from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be I read the stuff story this morning and thought, oh,
crimey a river. Do the student loan evaders who finally
get nabbed really expect sympathy when they bleap to the media?
Stuff this Morning has the story of Vic not his
real name. He was at Wellington Airport last month, heading

(00:32):
home to Australia, where he's lived and worked as a
medical specialist for three how many carry three decades? Thirty years?
When three police officers approached, he was arrested, spent three
nights in custody and at a court hearing, had his
passport confiscated. He's still here Stuff Rights a month later,

(00:55):
unable to work. Vic hadn't committed a criminal offense. Stuff
Rights but he owes Ird calculates student loan arears almost
one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. He's just the thirteenth
person arrested at the border in the last decade for
student loan debts. Vick's brother, Bob not his real name,

(01:20):
has an even bigger bill of about three hundred and
ten thousand, a debt he says he'll be paying off
until he dies unless he can negotiate a reduced deal.
The brothers came home to care for an ailing father.
They accept they owe the money, and they accept they
should have responded to Ird's repeated attempts to contact them,

(01:42):
ya think, but say it's only been in recent years
they realized how much they owed, despite the fact that
these overseas loan defaulters say they're the best and the brightest.
Oh didn't realize when we signed a contract and when
Ird got in touch with us, that if we didn't
pay it back, there'd be interest and penalties on the loan.

(02:05):
These are our best and brightest. That combined from those
two brothers as all almost half a million dollars, But
it's a drop in the ocean compared to the two
point three billion dollars owed by about one hundred and
thirteen thousand overseas based borrowers. They sign the contract to
borrow the money off the taxpayer. They know they owe

(02:28):
the money. When they don't pay it back and IID
contacts them, they refuse to acknowledge they owe the money
because they're going through a lot at the time. Easier
to bury your head in the sand and then They
cry poor me when they realize how much they owe
makes my blood boil. Taxpayers already pay seventy to eighty

(02:50):
percent of the cost of their degrees. They're asked to
contribute a small amount. Can you imagine what that specialist
is earning in Australia. According to Google, it starts a
specialist in Australia starts at a quarter of a million Australian,
goes up to a million dollars Australian. That moron could
have the loan paid back in a couple of years

(03:11):
and could pay as equally Dopey brother's debt off as well.
IRD was given extra enforcement funding in the twenty four
budget and began cracking down on serious debt as last
year revenue Mister Simon Watts said IRD had exceeded its targets,
collecting five hundred and forty four million in bad debts

(03:32):
since then when the target was three hundred and ninety
five million. Long way to go till we get the
two point three bill back that these shysters have an
effect stolen from the New Zealand taxpayers, but it's a start.
One of the reasons why the overseas base borrowers build
up such mammoth arrays is because while on shore Kiwis
don't pay interest on their loans, some one who's been

(03:53):
offshore for a hundred and eighty days sees the government
charge five point six interest on their debt. For those
in arrears another nine point six and penalties is added.
The brothers say we one actually worried about sixty thousand
between them in the early nineteen nineties by vix maths
as dead has gone up eight hundred percent. Well, his

(04:14):
maths should have kicked in earlier, shouldn't it when he
realized how much the loans, arrears and the interest was
going to cost him. If he can do the maths,
he should have done it a whole lot sooner. And
April law change allows ird discretion to remit interest. Previously
they could only forgive penalties, and that move was opposed

(04:36):
by both Treasury and the Ministry of Education, but Simon
Watt said the changes were a practical way to recover
debt that might otherwise never be repaid, and I think
he's probably right better to get some of it back
than none at all. Firk says he's head depression and
cancer and that meant that he just buried his head
in the sand when it came to his debt. You

(05:00):
think the people who helped pay for his medical degree
don't experience hardship as well? Think the people here who
helped fundom into his high paying career don't get depression
and cancer as well? And maybe, just maybe, if those
loan defaulters paid back what they owed to the taxpayer,
we would have more money to help people who suffer

(05:24):
from depression and cancer in this country. I have no sympathy.
The more they crack down, the better.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
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