New Zealand First has promised to help people paying off student loans by paying half the debt for them.
In a radical policy revealed today, leader Winston Peters said high student loans were forcing students into poverty and an urgent solution was needed.
Latest figures show New Zealanders owe more than $11
billion in students loans.
"We need to have a plan to invest in our country ... because as we have seen, it is mindless to carry on the way we are as it's a proven pathway to failure," he said.
"Our country is not short on money, we're short on the number of people investing in it and yes, I believe we can change things around."
One of the main focuses of the policy is to cut the amount owed by students in half.
Mr Peters said the situation needed to be addressed before "it inflicts more damage on yet another generation of young New Zealanders".
He said the piling up of student debt into the billions has got to end.
"NZ First will cut this Gordian Knot and will introduce a scheme where Government will make a matching dollar-for-dollar payment on student debt.
"This means a student living in New Zealand with a student loan of say $30,000 and paid back $15,000, Government would match that sum to extinguish the debt."
Mr Peters said a matching contribution scheme would effectively halve student debt and remove a big incentive for young Kiwis to go overseas.
"This NZ First solution would provide a fair and practical way of ending the dispersal of a generation of young Kiwis who are effectively economic exiles because of student debt."
Mr Peters said if students returned into the workplace, their taxes would soon cover the Government's contribution.
Mr Peters said the policy was affordable as the alternative was to do nothing.
"We're already losing so much money that this is certainly affordable, even in only half gets paid back it's better than nothing.
More details on New Zealand First's student debt policy and other policies will be released closer to the election.
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges was unavailable to comment this morning.
