Changing the cost of some uni degrees didn’t change students’ minds

In 2021, the Morrison Government introduced the Job-ready Graduates Package. If you haven’t heard of it or don’t remember the announcement, the policy aimed to steer university students away from “low demand” fields of study – like history and journalism – and into “high demand” fields – like nursing, teaching, computer programming and engineering.

The idea was to address Australia’s skill shortages by funnelling students towards areas considered vital to the economy. The announcement sparked debate about whether the change was an ideological jab at the arts.