Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand [SEP] start time
Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance Party and later the Progressive Party, and New Zealand First. While undertaking a number of substantial reforms, it was not particularly radical compared to previous Labour governments.
Overview.
The previous government, the fourth National government, had been in power since 1990. It was widely unpopular
under the Labour Government.
In 2001 a growing debt mountain caused the Fifth Labour Government to stop interest payments while students studied. Then in 2005 they rode to election on the promise of stopping interest for all those remaining in New Zealand.
From 2001, all full-time students were made exempt from interest while studying, and from 2006 all borrowers resident in New Zealand have been exempted from interest. (Technically interest is applied to all loans, but written off if the borrower is resident in New Zealand.)