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Encouraging personal responsibility and getting better value for taxpayers are key features of Budget 2011 changes to the student loan scheme, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne say.

The interest-free nature of the student loan scheme means that every dollar lent out today is worth only around 55 cents in today’s dollars. In 2010/11, the Government will lend out about $1.58 billion in student loans.

Budget 2011 continues the Government’s drive for high performance, value for money and the flexibility to respond to demand in the tertiary education sector, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce says.

“We are looking for better performance from students and tertiary education organisations, and a simpler funding system, while we are responding to areas of high demand,” he says.

Budget 2011 provides nearly $1 billion to advance the Government’s flagship ultra-fast broadband and rural broadband initiatives, which are key drivers of productivity and economic growth.

Capital funding of $942 million will be provided to Crown Fibre Holdings to invest alongside private sector partners in deploying fibre-to-the-premises networks that offer ultra-fast speeds, Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce says.

Budget 2011 commits more than $338 million to improving commuter rail services and supporting KiwiRail to become more commercially viable.

A funding package of $88.4 million over eight years for Wellington commuter rail will help transform Wellington’s rail services, Transport Minister Steven Joyce says.

“This funding will go towards upgrading and renewing the remainder of the signalling and electric power equipment on the Wellington network.

Budget 2011 will provide up to $42 million for trades training for the Canterbury region, Tertiary education Minister Steven Joyce says.

Funding is being set aside for up to 1500 additional training places as part of a comprehensive cross-agency response to meet additional demand for labour for the reconstruction programme called “Skills for Canterbury”.

The Skills for Canterbury package includes: