With the government planning to jack up the cost of a humanities degree, Crikey thought it was worth looking at exactly which politicians benefited from the kind of education that now seems increasingly out of reach for young Australians.
Of the 23 Coalition ministers, nine completed a Bachelor of Arts — compared to 14 Labor shadow ministers.
Science wasn’t too popular with the Coalition either. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is the only person in the ministry with a Bachelor of Science degree, while two others have a Bachelor of Engineering. Just one Labor minister ventured down the STEM route.
Coalition ministers were more likely to have an academic background in business, economics and commerce, while Labor ministers were more likely to have studied law.
Labor shadows have 41 degrees among them — one more than the Coalition.
Every Labor frontbencher holds at least a bachelor’s degree. There are three Coalition ministers — Michael McCormack, David Littleproud and Darren Chester — who have no tertiary education.
Here’s a quick ready reckoner:
| Tertiary Degree | Liberal | Labor |
| No bachelor degree | 3 | 0 |
| Bachelor of Arts | 9 | 14 |
| Bachelor of Science | 1 | 1 |
| Bachelor of Business/ Economics/ Commerce | 7 | 3 |
| Bachelor of Engineering | 2 | 0 |
| Bachelor of Laws | 9 | 12 |
| Bachelor of Psychology | 0 | 1 |
| Master of Laws | 1 | 1 |
| Master of Business/ MBA | 4 | 1 |
| Master of Arts | 1 | 1 |
| Master of International Relations | 1 | 2 |
| Master of Foreign Affairs and Trade | 1 | 0 |
| Master of Philosophy | 1 | 0 |
| Master of Accounting | 1 | 0 |
| Master of Science | 1 | 0 |
| Master of Public Policy / Politics / Administration | 1 | 2 |
| Master of Psychology | 0 | 1 |
| PhD | 0 | 2 |
You have forgotten David Gillespie. He has a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bchelor of Surgery.
>> Every Labor frontbencher holds at least a bachelor’s degree. There are three Coalition ministers — Michael McCormack, David Littleproud and Darren Chester — who have no tertiary education. <<
No one ever said the Nats were the brains trust of Australia.
Well said.
To be fair, Darren Chester is probably one of the more decent Nats (not a competitive field, I admit).
I agree Re D Chester, he does seem decent.
However as a member he can’t get anything done. he holds the seat by a comfortable margin. Therefore the Big brothers in the Coalition don’t have to bribe his electors with anything.
The “sports rorts” showed a fine example. A club in his electorate was No.1 on the list to get goodies. They however got dumped and the money went elsewhere.
I’m not sure if the number of Arts degrees this lot hold is an argument for or against the benefits of the liberal arts curriculum.
The skills we expect from a liberal arts degree could be picked up inside 12 months of well-directed, dedicated work with a tutor’s guidance. There are students who coast through their arts degrees in the present system and it is apparent to no one that they have “had an education”. Time for the universities to re-think their course structures and aims and come up with an arts degree program that can be completed inside 18 months, one that will set students on a path of life-long learning, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, ever-increasing maturity and civic engagement.
I recall being given a first week assignment on Hume’s discussion of the is-ought problem. It was tough, but I had a tutor who helped me through it. In that assignment I learned that university was going to stretch me – uncomfortably to begin with, but that I was a up to it.
Why has no one asked Dan Tehan why it took him so long to wake up to universities, their lecturers and students who expect others to pay for their leisurely self-indulgence?
With all these degrees among them, why are lnp members so dopey?
And what did they pay for them?
Probably a good proportion are the sad legacy from Great Gough’s vision.
Silk sow’s ear purses come to mind.