Rottenlungs
Great to see that you have so much more respect for the hazards of aviation than your instructor. Your attitude seems to be about right.
Oktas is right in that the aircraft should be recoverable from this height, but there are other hazards, such as spiral descent and low-flying fast movers (OK, not in NZ, but if you fly in the UK!). There is no need to endanger the aircraft and tight turns at low level should not be tried unless you have been well trained in extreme attitudes, preferably some aerobatic training. If your instructor has had this (I doubt it if he spins below 3000' agl) then he is safe, but should have warned you against copying. Good to see you did not need the warning.
2000 feet should be adequate for steep turns, as long as you watch carefully for overbanking or letting the nose come down which can lead to spiral descent. Any hint and ease off the bank to recover the nose attitude before re-coordinating the bank. However get 3000 if you can, I don't like to encourage fixed-wing pilots to be scudding around in the dirt. Leave that to egg-whisk jockeys. 1500 is certainly getting a bit low for a solo student manoeuvring tightly.
It seems that there was a better attitude to safety prevailing at your previous club, and if convenient I would suggest you consider returning. Otherwise just remember to keep yourself safe, and if in doubt ask an instructor you trust or ask here!