Nicola Willis says NZ First had to be convinced to scrap fees-free

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said it took “some time” for NZ First to come to the table over the scrapping of the fees-free tertiary education policy in this year’s Budget.

NZ First leader Winston Peters told media last week that the policy would be scrapped in the upcoming Budget, a cut later confirmed by Willis.

Willis told media on Tuesday that Peters “clearly got heated” and was put in a corner during the interview, but said she understood where he was coming from, given the proposal was met with opposition from NZ First.

“But we persisted, and we continued that conversation, and ultimately, as a coalition, we're all agreed with what's important: invest in things that are getting good results for New Zealanders,” she said.

“I'm hoping that I'll keep persuading them of other things.”

The policy was first introduced in 2018 - making one year of university training free, or two years of industry training.

Tertiary study is already heavily subsidised by the state, but the policy was originally intended by Labour to cover three years of study - removing the financial barrier of fees from decisions to study.

National opposed the policy but said in the lead-up to the election it would keep it in place. Following the election it switched the policy to apply to the last year of academic study, not the first.

But Willis has now confirmed that this year will be the last year for fees-free.