Will be interesting to see what Labor proposes with tertiary course fees
come next election.

Two politicians are responsible? Balls! The major parties must have agreed.

With only 27.3% of Australians with degrees (as at 2019), the cost of them is not going to jerk too many tears from the populace, particularly as that 27.3% cause most of the problems suffered by 72.7%.

Many/most of the humanities and social sciences courses Malcolm King has in mind have been destroyed by postmodernism and identity politics , so that rather than history, feminist studies, indigenous studies and so on are offered. And science is not immune, as can be witnessed in the appointment of Bruce Pascoe, author of the fabricated Dark Emu, as Professor of Indigenous Agriculture (which did not exist) in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, Melbourne University.

Hmm, in an economy that is funded almost exclusively on debt! Something has to give! And that something has to be things like the sports rorts, fully franked dividends to folk who don't pay tax, or worse folk who don't pay their tax here, and much of those dividends, foreign CEO's, executives, supported by jobkeeper/monumental debt!

Or for negative gearing that has no limit and again now funded/supported to a large extent by the taxpayers' purse/government debt.

Not only are these young folk being penalised by the "crony system", but as the future workforce/taxpayers, will be the ones expected to repay this huge but necessary debt!

And many will be now over eighteen and eligible to register to vote, and have Parents and Grandparents, who support these youngsters as best they can and look at the current crop of pollies, many of who got their degrees free! Guess where their first preferences are going? Talk about shooting oneself, in one's political foot Genius!

Negative gearing should have a top ceiling o f 5 residential investments/houses/individual apartments.

Fully franked dividends should only go to resident Australians who pay some tax here and here I include the GST, stamp duties, petrol excise and land tax! All of which are tax! And would mean, no pensioner/self funded retiree or Australian living here would be negatively affected.

The saving we could make in this space would more that pay for any shortfall of reduced fees, without making an arts degree (learning how to think critically) financially untenable, especially for the poor and downtrodden and the first people!

This is an investment in our future, not as now, in the past/political cronies/hasbeens/entrenched, if totally undeserving, unearnt privilege, i.e., Negative gearing/fully franked dividends!
Alan B.

After reading the story from the ,Late ,Adelaide Review , a picture of what really plagues the 'Arts" in Australia emerges. It's all about themselves at the end of the day .

The quote near the end sums it up, "Perhaps the problem lies in a perception that Australian voters fail to see or value the link between arts funding and the culture they consume."

I fail to identify any 'culture ' that I consume from the examples quoted either in the Story OR in Malcolm's Article ... These groups simply cannot grasp that they target a tiny minority of Australians who , being so small , cannot or will not keep their "Arts " financially afloat ..

ttbn. Labor rejected the legislation in the lower and upper house, but it was passed by the coalition and enough minor party votes to win the day! And all that eventually got it through was two critical, centre-right, deciding votes!

So, balls to your non-fact checked balls and par for the course for an ideologue, programmed like Pavlov's dogs to react to the facts the way you traditionally do? Bark at them!

When it comes to elections? 30% of us understand economics, another 30% who understand the politics and the remaining 40% who understand neither, as you so remarkably demonstrate in almost your every utterance, who decide our elections!

Then it is the same fools who invariably wail about outcomes or the way the country is going to the dogs. Go figure.
Alan B.

Well well, some sense at last. All those useless degrees, used only to gain public service jobs,[what a laugh that is], will now cost more.

In fact those really interested in "the arts" can now pay at least some of the cost to produce them.

The general public, interested in football, cricket & horse racing have been paying for too long to prop up a basically useless section of academia, for no return what so ever.

Thank god there were enough minor party people to stop Labors buying of the academic vote yet again.

ttbn :-)) your not wrong mate: more right than you realise too! Very good!

Dan

DD,

Nice to know.

What have been some of the benefits to our society by people with Arts degrees & what percentage of them thus far?

no skin off my …, as I too criticise Australia's humanities.

But to suggest that Arts degrees are useless is really pathetic and represents no understanding of how real world works or the skills that such degrees develop.

I got to meet two PMs and have dinner with a DP through my own meagre humanities efforts.

What about you critics

Great Chris, if you find value in your "meagre humanities efforts" that's fine, but tell me what value the local check out chick gets for your efforts. Then prey tell, why she should contribute to that value you may be able to find, but many of us could not.

So mate, if it is of value to you, & some other students, I suggest you & they should pay the full cost. I can not see the value to the tax payer of your meetings with 2 PMs and dinner with a DP to the tax payer who paid for the majority of your education.

meet two PMs and have dinner with a DP
Chris Lewis,
The average Deckie on a charter boat meets more celebrities than that

Individual, the point is that the PMs and DPM, were only interested in meeting me because of what I wrote, something that came from a humanities background which they appreciated.

While I could have a done better, i think the Arts can be a great pathway to careers that can help society.

From a policy point of view, Arts gives you research skills that are supposed to make sense of a lot of information. That is why Arts students are employed, albeit i agree with the Coalition that there are simply too many people doing Arts degrees.

Hasbeen, don't average people read OLO? I thought we are all average.

As for fees, I don see why the Arts students should pay more funding that what the courses cost. That, to me, is grossly unfair and Labor should do something about it next election if they actually ant to stand for something.

Chris the average mechanic, or fitter & turner uses more research skills than most arts graduates will ever acquire.

As with most things, I am sure there are a few arts graduates which are of some use, but the majority, sitting on their spreading backsides in some government office are neither use or ornament to the people of Oz.

Perhaps those flipping burgers at a hamburger chain do at least do something useful.

Hasbeen, that could be true.

While research will always have some slant, the teaching of humanities, say politics and history, could be much, much better.

The humanities have been ruined by bias and many stupid and unnecessary subjects

just spoke to a girl I know doing politics as part of law degree, and she told me she slagged off about Trump and the need to get rid of him.

How about teaching the students why he got elected?

To Chris Lewis- this was exactly my thoughts. Thanks for saying it out loud. I hope you don't get cancelled.

CM, yes, too many so-called Australian political scientists, although not all, are more political advocates rather than balanced teachers/scholars.

Centre-right and right ideas have legitimate support, and any move within a society one way or another has to be analysed rather than being merely mocked.