Finance Minister Nicola Willis has backed the decision to scrap the fees-free scheme for good.

Last week, Winston Peters revealed to Newstalk ZB on Friday the Government's doing away with the free final year of tertiary education.

Nicola Willis says it's important for the Government to invest in things that Kiwis really need and want - not a failed policy that didn't achieve any of the goals it aimed to accomplish.

"New Zealand has been in deficit since 2019, we're carrying a heck of a lot of debt, we've got some real priorities for our budget in terms of the health system, the education we want to give our young kids, the defence system we want to build up, the infrastructure we want to build - all of those things have a better call on money." 

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