Sir Paul takes appeal to Christchurch

New Zealander of the Year Professor Sir Paul Callaghan will speak in Christchurch next week about his appeal to expat Kiwi graduates to pay back their student loans to assist with the earthquake recovery.

The Victoria University Physics Professor will visit Christchurch on Tuesday 3 May, getting a first-hand look at the devastation in the city following the 22 February 6.3 earthquake.

He will speak at Lincoln University about the HEKE (Heroic Educated Kiwi Expatriates) project and the future prosperity of New Zealand following the earthquake. He will also be interviewed on CTV about the appeal, which is addressed at the 85,000 New Zealanders living overseas with student loans.
Since the appeal was launched in March, media outlets and social media sites have debated the merits of the appeal, prompting a wider debate about the student loan system.

Sir Paul launched the campaign with a letter to graduates living overseas. In it, he noted the massive financial aid needed to recover from the Christchurch earthquake and asked the more than 85,000 New Zealanders with student loans living abroad to provide a huge financial boost to the recovery. He particularly appealed to the 35,000 Kiwis abroad who are behind in their repayments.

New Zealand graduates living abroad have a median debt of $17,900—a total debt of over $2 billion.

Since the launch, Sir Paul has taken to social media sites, primarily the HEKE Facebook page (www.facebook.com/hekeproject), to argue the merits of the campaign.

Sir Paul was knighted in 2009, and in February he was named the 2011 New Zealander of the Year in recognition his outstanding contribution to science, business and reversing New Zealand's 'brain drain'.

He has rejected criticism that he is unfairly targeting expat graduates.

"I have tried to make clear that I am only pitching this at graduates not repaying and that I don't want them to feel any guilt or obligation but purely to see this as an opportunity if they can afford to start repaying. February 22 is a game changer for all of us. We all have to think anew now," he says.

Sir Paul will speak at Lincoln University at 12 midday. The venue is room D6 in the School of Landscape Architecture Building. Admission is free and media are welcome to attend.

He will be interviewed on CTV's new programme City Life, which will focus on Christchurch's recovery.