Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I rise to support the Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2024, and I commend the member for Fowler for introducing it. She's a hardworking member of this parliament who always fights for her constituents including young Australians.

Society and culture subjects at our universities aren't just mere subjects to tack onto a degree; they're a critical source of learning which equips students to gain a greater depth of understanding about the communities and world in which we live. These subjects shape and develop students' understandings of a wide range of topics from history, philosophy, archaeology and sociology to Indigenous issues and the impacts of rapidly changing technologies.

When students undertake these courses of study, they're not just about theory. Students are engaging in meaningful and relevant courses of study which lay the foundation for careers in a wide variety of fields for the benefit of our country. These subjects develop skills in critical thinking, analytics, problem-solving and an understanding of how our societies work—skills that are essential to building stronger communities, including country communities. In May this year, the Financial Review published an article on its analysis of the educational background of the 226 federal politicians in Australia. Out of the 151 members of parliament and 75 senators currently in office, 77 per cent have a bachelor's degree or higher, and, when it came to the type of degree, the Financial Review found about 40 per cent of federal politicians studied arts at university, which was, by a long shot, the most popular degree.

The unkind may well say, 'If politicians are studying it, maybe we shouldn't support it.' While I myself don't have an arts degree, my point is that politics is just one of a wide array of pathways opened up by an arts and humanities education. There are many others. Look at our historians. How can we as a nation chart a course for the future if we don't have an understanding of where we've been? The list goes on and on. Many of our distinguished educators, jurists and businesspeople have studied arts and humanities. While I certainly don't begrudge students studying STEM with lower course fees, we really do need to question whether the Jobs-ready Graduates Package has been effective or successful. The Australian Universities Accord report certainly doesn't think so. The accord found that only 1.5 per cent of students changed their courses as a result of the scheme. It's also resulted in an inequitable and unfair student loans scheme, where students in the humanities, arts and communications get slugged more. It is fundamentally unjust and unfair.

I'm with the accord on this. We need to overhaul the whole ineffective Jobs-ready Graduates Package, which has turned out to be a fail. This bill is a positive step in that direction. I commend it to the House, and I commend the hard-working member for Fowler for bringing this important legislation before us today.

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