Labor accused of avoiding promise to rein in controversial Morrison-era university fees scheme

Greens amendments to force new watchdog to scrutinise uni fees and the Jobs-Ready Graduates scheme rejected by federal government Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The federal government is being accused of dodging promised reforms to bring down soaring university fees, after rejecting efforts to have them scrutinised by a new watchdog. On Monday, legislation to establish the independent Australian Tertiary Education Commission (Atec) passed the Senate with a number of amendments, including to improve its resourcing and ensuring it had a focus on research. But Labor refused to support a Greens amendment that would require Atec to prepare reports and advise the education minister on the student fees charged for each subject, which would include tackling the Morrison-era Job-Ready Graduates (JRG) package. The JRG scheme was introduced in 2021, and led to arts degrees costing students more than $50,000 – while other degrees including in science and mathematics had fees slashed by up to 59%. The education minister, Jason Clare, has repeatedly deferred any JRG reforms to the Atec. Asked about the “failed” J