Greens Bill Seeks to Slash Uni Fees, But Will It Work?

0:00Australian uni students and arts, law, and business are stuck paying over $50,000 for a three-year degree, thanks to the 20. 21 job-ready graduates policy that doubled those fees. Now a Greens bill in the Senate aims to slash them back to pre-policy levels, like dropping arts from $17,399, dollars a year to $8,164. That policy tried to push more kids into nursing, teaching, engineering, and IT by cutting their fees, while hiking costs for fields like arts where jobs take longer to land. Business and law got hit too, even though their grads often find work quick. Students have been stressing over these bills for five years, and most folks hate the setup. At a recent Senate inquiry, uni bosses, unions, and experts call for fixes but shot down the bill, saying it would gut university funding by up to. 50% for arts, without extra government cash, to cover it. The labor government's dragging its feet, calling fixes too pricey at $1.9 billion a year, despite earlier promises.

1:04Education Minister Jason Claire's new commission might indirectly tweak student contributions through total funding reviews, but no big moves yet ahead. Of next month's budget, reform could come in steps, like easing arts fees first, while bumping engineering costs to balance the books based on future earnings. That way, we get fairness for students, steady uni cash, and no budget blowout. Local news, powered by AI. This is Adelaide News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.