Författare: Michelle Grattan Professorial Fellow University of Canberra

In a government that puts ministers on show until people are sick of seeing their faces, Don Farrell is a man with hardly a public profile.

The trade minister, who is also special minister of state, doesn’t regularly hit the breakfast TV round and only rarely appears on the major current affairs programs.

Yet Farrell, an influential factional leader from the right, has had, so far, a good first term in the Albanese government.

When Labor came to power, China had restrictions on about $20 billion worth of Australia’s trade. Now there are virtually no blocks.

Of course most of that is due to the general improvement in the bilateral relations and, on Australia’s side, Anthony Albanese is main player, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong also significant.

But Farrell has been the supporting act, in terms of detail and person-to-person diplomacy, including some VIP entertaining at his South Australian vineyard. He’s also ticked off various other things on his to-do list.

But there is one major outstanding item, that’s more or less entirely in his court, and on which Farrell’s success or failure this term will be mainly judged.

That is, getting through parliament major reform of federal election funding and spending, a long-term Labor promise.

The changes would include real-time disclosure of donations, as well as limits on them, and caps on campaign outlays. The regime would bring more transparency and accountability, limit the influence of big money, and contain the financial arms race in electioneering.

The proposals, yet to be revealed in detail, are not uncontested. Notably, crossbenchers fear they would be squeezed, which is no doubt true in some cases given the large sums spent in the 2022 election in certain “teal” seats.

Climate 200’s Simon Holmes à Court told the Sydney Morning Herald at the weekend, “I expect we’ll support 20 to 25 campaigns” in the coming election. We don’t know how Climate 200 and some other funding sources, especially the unions, would fare under the proposed regime.

The word is that Farrell is close to a deal with the Liberals on his plan, the introduction of which he has put off more than once because of drafting challenges, extensive consultations and, crucially, as he has sought to land an arrangement with Labor’s major opponent.

But he is running out of time. Only two sitting weeks remain before parliament breaks for Christmas, and the parliamentary agenda is presently like an overloaded shopping trolley with stuff spilling out all over the place.

There is some scheduled sitting time early next year, unless the prime minister scrapped it with an election announcement.

But, assuming parliament does come back in February, the agenda will still be overflowing and the political mood even more hyper than now.

So the preferred course of Farrell – who has met the prime minister on the matter – would be to close the deal with the Liberals and try to push the changes, due to start mid next term, through this year.

There’d be a lot of screaming about lack of time for scrutiny. But from the government’s point of view, this would be less damaging before Christmas than closer to next year’s election.

If the reforms don’t get through before the election and Labor goes into minority government, the chances of having them passed next term would be reduced.

The crossbench in the House of Representatives would have power to arc up, and the Liberals, facing a more vulnerable government, would probably go back on any deal.

As Farrell mulls whether he can pull off a throw of the dice, his colleague, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, has found the odds suddenly worsening against him as the COP29 climate conference starts in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday.

Donald Trump’s victory drives the climate issue well down the United States priorities. This comes when, as the Australian Financial Review reported, the summit “was already threatened by entrenched global discord and a widespread no-show from political and corporate leaders”.

The meeting’s central issue is setting a new financial goal to help fund developing countries’ emission reduction efforts. The coming change of administration in the United States can only make this harder. Bowen – who attends the conference, which runs until November 22, at the end – is in the unenviable position of co-leading the consultations on this financial issue.

And then there’s Australia’s bid to host, together with Pacific states, the 2026 COP meeting. Again, the January change of US administration can only complicates this. If, as expected, Trump pulls the US out of the Paris agreement, 2026 would be the first COP without the Americans. (America’s last exit, under Trump, did not coincide with a COP meeting and was quickly reversed by Joe Biden.)

Trump’s victory will make the Dutton opposition even less enthusiastic about the hosting bid – which it has already derided as a “vanity project”.

How confident can other countries be about the bid, given at least the possibility of a change of government that could lead to Australia, if confirmed as the winner, later backing out? Bowen will not be able to give any firm guarantees. Läs mer…

Early Wednesday evening, Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan raced down the Parliament House stairs to collect a bag of McDonald’s from an Uber. To celebrate Trump’s victory, he called out as he ran.

If any Labor people were eating McDonald’s, it would have been for comfort food as they contemplated difficult times.

Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the White House is mostly bad news for Anthony Albanese and his government, already facing a challenging 2025 election year.

Let’s be clear: officials are reassuring themselves Trump’s ascendancy won’t shake the fundamentals of the Australian-American alliance. That is driven by long-term mutual interests, which remain through the thick-and-thin of political turbulence in one or other country.

But the Trump administration will be complicated for the prime minister to handle.

Meanwhile, Labor won’t miss a few election messages from the result, despite the big differences between the two countries (especially our compulsory voting system). High cost of living was a political killer, as was people feeling worse off than before. Trump’s much repeated question, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” resonated. Voters were sour and distrustful; alienated men are becoming a hard constituency for a party of the left.

Trump relates to other leaders in a very personal way. US watcher Bruce Wolpe, speaking ahead of the result, warned a Trump-Albanese relationship would be “rocky at the start”. Trump would be briefed on past Albanese comments. (These include Albanese saying, in 2017, Trump “scares the shit out of me”.) Also, “If Trump looks at the agenda of the Albanese government, it is a mirror image of Joe Biden’s domestic policy agenda adjusted for realities in both countries”.

Two former prime ministers, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, successfully dealt with President Trump Mark 1. Morrison was a natural fit and Trump feted him. Turnbull mixed an appeal to their common transactional business backgrounds, with some straight-out bullying ( the latter to persuade Trump to abide by an existing deal on refugees).

During those years Australia also had the advantage of having as ambassador Joe Hockey, who had a close relationship with the Trump White House.

The path for Albanese to establish a personal relationship with Trump is unclear.

One early test may be the Trump administration’s attitude to current ambassador Kevin Rudd. When, earlier this year, Rudd’s past scathing critique was put to him. Trump said, “if he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long”.

Rudd won’t be “at all hostile”. He’s been working assiduously to foster relations with the Trump camp. The government is determined to keep him in place, hoping the Trump team will let bygones be bygones.

Rudd’s office on Thursday issued this rather extraordinary statement:

“In his previous role as the head of an independent US-based think tank, Mr Rudd was a regular commentator on American politics.

”Out of respect for the office of President of the United States, and following the election of President Trump, Ambassador Rudd has now removed these past commentaries from his personal website and social media channels. This has been done to eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued as reflecting his positions as Ambassador and, by extension, the views of the Australian Government.

”Ambassador Rudd looks forward to working with President Trump and his team to continue strengthening the US-Australia alliance.”

Another, more substantial test of the Trump-Albanese government relationship is likely to be the tariff regime Trump has foreshadowed. Previously under Trump, Australia was able to negotiate exemptions from tariffs for its steel and aluminium. Australia will lobby hard for special consideration again.

When Trump turns his eyes to the United States’ allies, there is a general expectation the AUKUS pact will be safe. It is long term, with support from both sides of Congress; there is no US interest in disturbing it – indeed the US is doing well financially out of it.

Former head of the defence department and one-time ambassador to the US Dennis Richardson, points out the Trump presidency will end several years before the Americans are due to hand over the first of the Virginia Class submarines to Australia.

While there’ll be general pressure on allies to boost their defence budgets, Richardson says Australia is already spending 2% of GDP and is committed to increasing it.

In economic terms, like other countries Australia will be affected by whatever fallout the Trump program brings for the international economy. But predicting exactly what will happen is near impossible, as Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock made clear on Thursday when questioned by a testy Greens senator Nick McKim, who wanted precision.

“Our initial feeling is that if he does some of what he’s said, maybe it doesn’t have a lot of implications. If he’s more extreme, maybe it does,” Bullock told an Senate estimates committee hearing.

Assistant governor Christopher Kent explained further, “One of the big effects [of Trump’s stated tariff policy] is on China. But you can’t imagine the Chinese will do nothing. […] There can be offsetting things and we don’t know.”

Independent economist Chris Richardson sees the “vibe” of uncertainty as a defining feature of the future with Trump. The volatility of his presidency will affect the decisions of nations, business, even families, he says.

At all levels, “there will be good reason to be a bit more careful with your decisions in a Trump world.” As businesses and individuals become more risk averse, ultimately the cost is a loss of returns, Richardson says.

That’s likely to be the case in one major policy area of particular importance to Australia: climate change. Trump’s flagged he would want to take the US out of the Paris agreement once again. His presidency could throw international efforts to contain global warming into disarray. Climate change Minister Chris Bowen has already been coy about whether he will announced Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target in February, as required. Now the timetable, and the ambition of the target, will come further into question.

Asked on Thursday whether he’d commit to announcing a 2035 target before the election, Albanese said “we’re focused on our 2030 target”.

Albanese had a phone call with the president-elect on Thursday morning. “We talked about the importance of the Alliance, and the strength of the Australia-US relationship in security, AUKUS, trade and investment. I look forward to working together in the interests of both our countries,” the prime minister said later on social media.

Albanese told reporters: “President Trump has run a campaign based on change and he’s made it clear he’s going to do things differently – so we shouldn’t be surprised as things change.” The prime minister is in no position to say so, but probably Trump still “scares the shit” out of him. Läs mer…

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the government plans to publish the secret section of the Robodebt royal commission report, although it is not clear when it will do so.

Dreyfus said in a Thursday statement this would be done for transparency and accountability “at the first appropriate opportunity”.

The timing will depend on advice from the “eminent person” who is to review the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s decision not to investigate six people referred to it by the royal commission. The six, among others, are named in the secret section.

The royal commission recommended this section not be released with the rest of the report to avoid prejudicing any civil action or criminal prosecution.

“With civil and criminal matters largely complete, the government had planned to table the additional chapter in the House of Representatives in the current sitting week,” Dreyfus said.

But then last week the Inspector of the NACC said the NACC’s decision not to investigate the six should be reopened, after finding Commissioner Paul Brereton, who heads the organisation, had not properly recused himself from the decision-making process. Brereton excused himself because of his acquaintance with one of the six, but was still heavily involved in the process, according to the Inspector.

The Inspector said an eminent person should be appointed by the NACC to look again at whether an investigation should be undertaken.

“The government will now seek advice from the NACC decision maker, once appointed, on whether the tabling of the confidential additional chapter would prejudice any current or future decision of the NACC, ” Dreyfus said.

There has been strong pressure, including from within the government, for the secret section to be put out.

Meanwhile Brereton’s conduct will be examined at a public hearing later this month of the parliament committee with oversight of the NACC.

There have been calls for Brereton’s resignation, with critics saying this is needed to preserve the reputation of the NACC, which has only been in operation a little over a year.

The deputy chair of the parliamentary committee, Independent MP Helen Haines, told The Conversation’s politics podcast that the NACC had had a “disappointing start” with the Robodebt incident and the findings by the Inspector. Läs mer…

Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie has admitted to receiving sixteen undisclosed upgrades, including on five personal flights to or from New Zealand.

The five NZ flights, with Qantas, were between 2016 and 2018, when her boyfriend was New Zealand then-parliamentarian David Bennett.

While McKenzie has been in the shadow transport portfolio since the last election, there have been three Qantas upgrades from economy to business, when she was flying on parliamentary business.

Other upgrades included one from Qantas in January 2015, and seven Virgin domestic upgrades between 2015 and 2019.

After Anthony Albanese’s upgrades became an issue following publication of Joe Aston’s book The Chairman’s Lounge, McKenzie went strongly on the attack. Initially she denied she had had any upgrades herself. After that was seen to be wrong she wrote to the airlines asking for her details.

When it became clear the opposition was about to be embarrassed by the McKenzie record, it pulled back from pursuing the upgrades issue.

In a Wednesday statement, McKenzie acknowledged her “deficiencies in disclosing these matters do not meet the expectations of the Australian people and the parliament and were an oversight on my part, and for this I apologise”.

She said she had never sought free upgrades. Läs mer…

Trust in politicians is at an all-time low, not only in Australia but across the world. Now more than ever, people are demanding a higher standard for our elected officials.

The row over flight upgrades and the Qantas lounge has reinforced distrust.

So has the strong criticism of the head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Paul Brereton, in his conduct over referrals from the Robodebt royal commission. The Inspector of the NACC found Brereton, who had a conflict of interest because he knew one of the people, had not properly recused himself from the consideration of whether the NACC should investigate the referrals.

Independent MP Helen Haines, who holds the Victorian seat of Indi, has long focused on integrity issues, and she joined us on the podcast.

Haines, who is deputy chair of the parliamentary committee with oversight of the NACC, says the new body – which she strongly believes is surrounded by too much secrecy – has not started well:

We are just over one year in, but I’d have to say that the National Anti-Corruption Commission has got off to a disappointing start, given the Robodebt incident and the subsequent inquiry by the Inspector.

The [parliamentary] oversight committee will have the opportunity very soon – in a public hearing on the 22nd of November, when the Commissioner comes before us in regard to the annual report of the NACC – to ask him questions. And I certainly will be giving full consideration to what line of questioning needs to happen in that committee in order to unpack the events of the past year.

Will that committee make a decision on whether Commissioner Brereton should be asked to resign?

I think what happens next will be determined by what the committee unpacks in that public hearing. But I think, to be clear, that under the legislation, our committee has powers to review the performance of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners. So that’s what we’ll be doing.

On grant programs, Haines says the Albanese government is pork barrelling, just as the Coalition did:

It’s a really strong example of the two major parties and the duopoly they hold. They wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work. But there are ways that we can remedy this. I’ve put forward twice in the parliament now a piece of private member’s legislation that would bring an end to pork barrelling. It would mean that eligibility criteria and guidelines by legislation must be published before grant moneys are allocated.

It would re-institute parliamentary oversight of these grant programs. And it would make sure that in circumstances where the department had recommended particular projects but a minister wished to make a different decision to override that, which may be quite legitimate, but that the minister would need to come into the House and explain that.

When she is reminded one argument for a vote for an independent in her seat of Indi, when her predecessor Cathy McGowan ran, had been to make it more competitive in attracting promises, she says:

Now I think that’s regrettable. I think, though, it’s a symptom of the cynicism that everyday citizens feel when the major parties have what they consider safe seats and what they consider marginal seats.

I think that what I’ve learnt as a member of parliament is that we never fix the system if we remain that cynical. I think we need to say, what’s the problem here? The problem is that the major parties are using taxpayer dollars for political purposes and that, yes, you can feel angry, disappointed and, in fact, so cynical that you take the approaches, as we did in Indi, to say, well, we need to change our representation.

I’m saying it’s no wonder people buy into that when there’s no remedy. I want to see a remedy.

On her decision to this week to cancel her membership of the Qantas chairman’s lounge and its Virgin equivalent:

For me, the potential or perceived conflict of interest or actual conflict of interest that may arise from holding such a membership when I’m a legislator is a risk that I’m not willing to take now. Läs mer…

The High Court has struck down the Albanese government’s law enabling it to impose ankle bracelets and curfews on the more than 200 non-citizens it released from immigration detention in 2023 after  an earlier decision by the court.

Wednesday’s decision, by a five-two majority, found the measures “punitive” and an infringement of the constitution.

The plaintiff in the case  was a stateless Eritrean who was released from immigration detention last November. He was later charged  with six offences  for failing to comply with his monitoring and curfew conditions. The charges are  pending  in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.  His earlier criminal record includes a 2017 conviction for offences of burglary and causing injury.

Legislation for the measures was rushed through parliament a year ago, in response to the release of the detainees, many of whom had serious criminal records, including for murder, rape and assault.

During consideration of the bill, the opposition forced the government to toughen it – from providing for the measures only where needed for community safety, to saying the minister must act unless satisfied the person did not pose a risk.

At the time constitutional experts such as Anne Twomey, from the University of Sydney,nas well as the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills expressed doubts about the legislation.

Twomey wrote: “the effects of the political bidding war to be seen as the ‘toughest’ and most punitive  towards non-citizens will make it infinitely harder for Commonwealth lawyers to defend these measures in the courts”.

The opposition said in a statement the effect of the court decision would be that “215 dangerous non-citizen offenders including 12 murderers, 66 sex offenders, 97 people convicted of assault, 15 domestic violence perpetrators and others will be free in the community without any monitoring or curfews”.

It said since being released, 65 of these people had been charged with new state or territory offences, with 45 remaining free in the community.

The government should immediately bring in fresh legislation to deal with the situation, the opposition said.

Surprisingly, the opposition did not ask the government in the House of Representatives question time what it planned to do. Läs mer…

The High Court has struck down the Albanese government’s law enabling it to impose ankle bracelets and curfews on the more than 200 non-citizens it released from immigration detention in 2023 after  an earlier decision by the court.

Wednesday’s decision, by a five-two majority, found the measures “punitive” and an infringement of the constitution.

The plaintiff in the case  was a stateless Eritrean who was released from immigration detention last November. He was later charged  with six offences  for failing to comply with his monitoring and curfew conditions. The charges are  pending  in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.  His earlier criminal record includes a 2017 conviction for offences of burglary and causing injury.

Legislation for the measures was rushed through parliament a year ago, in response to the release of the detainees, many of whom had serious criminal records, including for murder, rape and assault.

During consideration of the bill, the opposition forced the government to toughen it – from providing for the measures only where needed for community safety, to saying the minister must act unless satisfied the person did not pose a risk.

At the time constitutional experts such as Anne Twomey, from the University of Sydney,nas well as the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills expressed doubts about the legislation.

Twomey wrote: “the effects of the political bidding war to be seen as the ‘toughest’ and most punitive  towards non-citizens will make it infinitely harder for Commonwealth lawyers to defend these measures in the courts”.

The opposition said in a statement the effect of the court decision would be that “215 dangerous non-citizen offenders including 12 murderers, 66 sex offenders, 97 people convicted of assault, 15 domestic violence perpetrators and others will be free in the community without any monitoring or curfews”.

It said since being released, 65 of these people had been charged with new state or territory offences, with 45 remaining free in the community.

Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said regulations were being finalised for “an adjusted process” for electronic monitoring and curfews. “I will sign off on these regulations later today.”

Burke said that on Thursday he would introduce new legislation to support the regulations. That legislation would also strengthen the government’s power to remove to third countries people whose visas had been cancelled.

“The court decision is not the one the government wanted – but it is one the government has prepared for,” Burke said. Läs mer…

Crossbench independents Allegra Spender, Helen Haines and Kate Chaney have declared they are pulling out of the elite lounges run by Qantas and Virgin, amid the ongoing spotlight on privileges politicians receive from the airlines.

Allegra Spender, the member for the Sydney seat of Wentworth, also said she’d write to ask Qantas and Virgin not to give free upgrades to parliamentarians. It was “time to end the upgrades”.

She said all sides of politics enjoyed the perks, and both major parties had blocked greater competition from Qatar Airways.

Airlines operated under government policy and ministerial decisions, she said. “The public is understandably losing trust in politicians to make those decisions impartially when they’re being given free upgrades from the companies they’re supposed to regulate.”

Spender urged a review of the ministerial code of conduct. Tighter rules were needed about what politicians could accept. The code should also be extended to shadow ministers. There should as well be much more transparency over the diaries of ministers, she said.

“This is the only way to deal with the perception – and potential reality – of decisions being influenced by perks.”

But Labor MP Luke Gosling, from the Darwin seat of Solomon, accused her of grandstanding. “It’s a bit rich from the people with harbour views who either drive or have less than a one-hour flight,” he told the ABC.

Haines, from the Victorian regional seat of Indi, said she was quitting the lounges because she wanted “to remove any possibility of an actual or perceived conflict of interest” in her work as an MP.

“The reality that airlines offer these kinds of perks because ultimately they want to get something in return does not sit well with me and I want to continue to contribute to creating a culture of transparency and accountability through my actions as well as my words.”

Haines said she wanted “to see more rigorous rules around MP disclosures of upgrades and I think a ban on soliciting free flight upgrades is more than reasonable”.

Chaney, who holds the Western Australian seat of Curtin, said with the media attention on the issue “we need to do everything we can to rebuild trust in politicians making decisions in the public interest”.

Another crossbencher, Monique Ryan, from the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, who dropped her Qantas chairman’s lounge membership last year on integrity grounds, said she welcomed the discussion about the impact of corporate largesse on MPs’ decision-making.

“I am deeply concerned about lobbying and its potential to impact government decision making. Free upgrades and airline hospitality are lobbying practices that we have taken for granted for a long time, and it is important that we re-examine them — especially given public concerns about conflicts of interest.”

Meanwhile there is no indication of when opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie, who was leading the charge against the prime minister over his upgrades, will produce a list of her own. She has said she has written to three airlines to check what upgrades she has had. Läs mer…

The Qantas upgrades affair has turned from a missile targeted at Anthony Albanese to a cluster bomb hitting MPs on all sides.

On Sunday, Education Minister Jason Clare took the opportunity provided by an interview on Sky about the government’s proposal to slash 20% off student debt to relate, in detail, why he requested a Qantas upgrade in 2019 for a private trip to Singapore.

He’d had an operation on his leg. He was catching up with his family already overseas. He contacted someone – he’s forgotten who – in Qantas.

On the other side of politics, the Nationals’ Bridget McKenzie, who’s been in hot pursuit of Albanese over his upgrades, is yet to produce full details of her own situation.  She’s asked the airlines for the information.

Then there’s the Liberals’ Paul Fletcher, who apparently likes to book economy on flights of under two hours. He’s had 69 upgrades over almost 15 years.

It’s important to remember what the rules are. Parliamentarians in their work are entitled to fly business class on domestic trips.  In some cases, they choose to fly economy on short hauls and business on longer ones.

In the wake of the ongoing revelations, surely it is time to fix the rules. One obvious change should be a ban on upgrades for all personal travel, domestic or overseas, by parliamentarians. If MPs do not want the discomfort of economy class on holidays or other excursions, they should pay to avoid it.

Another change should be that the minister for transport, and the shadow minister, should decline upgrades for their official travel. That avoids any suggestion of being influenced by such perks.

This parliamentary week is devoted, in the Senate, to estimates hearings, so there will be some grilling on the first day about upgrades, and also about the fabled Qantas chairman’s lounge, a networking facility which those with power are invited to join.

“The Chairman’s Lounge” is the title of the book by journalist Joe Aston that kicked off the furore a week ago.

The estimates hearings are also likely to see opposition senators probe the entrails of whether Lidia Thorpe, who demonstrated  noisily at the parliamentary reception for the King, has or has not been properly sworn in as a senator.

Thorpe substituted the word “hairs” for “heirs” when she read the oath. But she signed the paper, and constitutional expert Anne Twomey thinks she’s met the requirements.

McKenzie has been among those targeting Thorpe. But  if, when the full Senate sits later in the month, the opposition tries to have action taken against Thorpe, it will just serve her cause.

Thorpe wants publicity and that would give her plenty more. To be attempting to censure or even have disqualified an Indigenous senator would send a bad signal, at home (where some Indigenous people back her) and abroad.

The House of Representatives this week will have a heap of legislation before it, including the bill on misinformation and disinformation. There will be another to keep the NBN in public hands, as well as the aged care reforms.

But we’re still awaiting an announcement on restricting gambling advertising, and a bill to put an age limit on young people signing up to social media accounts.

We won’t be seeing before the election legislation for the prime minister’s  announcement on  cutting student debt by 20%, and other changes relating to its repayment, that he unveiled at the weekend.

Unlike the government’s earlier change to the indexation of this debt, now before the Senate, these new measures are promises – conditional on Labor winning next year’s election.

If that happens, Albanese says this will be “the first piece of legislation we bring into the next parliament”. The  20% cut would be from loan accounts that exist on June 1 next year.

The government says this is worth $16 billion, although experts point out the real figure – that is, the cost to taxpayers – is several billion dollars less because a portion of these loans would never be repaid anyway.

We do not have a precise timeline for the cost, which the government says would be borne over the life of the debt. No doubt the estimates hearings will see some delving into this promise, that is squarely directed at millennial voters and those younger and focused on the cost of living.   Läs mer…

People repaying HELP student debts would get cost-of-living relief under changes to repayment arrangements to be announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday.

The minimum threshold for repayments to start would be lifted by more than $10,000 a year, from about $54,000 in 2024-25 to $67.000 in 2025-26. This threshold would be indexed so it always remained about 75% of average graduate earnings.

The government would also move to a marginal repayment system for HELP debts. That would in the short term be to the advantage of people on incomes just above the threshold.

This change, which does not alter the overall amount of the person’s debt, was recommended by Bruce Chapman, the academic who was a designer of the original HECS scheme in the 1980s. Chapman undertook work for the universities accord released by Education Minister Jason Clare.

The accord recommended “reducing the financial burden of repayment on low-income earners and limiting disincentives to work additional hours by moving to a system of HELP repayment based on marginal rates”.

In a Sunday speech, Albanese will say the changes will boost take home pay for one million young Australians.

The average HELP debt holder would pay about $680 less annually in their repayments.

A university graduate earning $70,000 would have their minimum repayments reduced by $1,300. A graduate on $80,000 would receive a cut of $850.

The targeted relief would apply to all graduates earning up to $180,000 annually.

The changes extend to student loans for vocational education.

The government plans to bring in legislation for the changes next year, but it is not clear whether this will be before or after the election, which must be held by May.

The cost over the forward estimates would be about $300 million.

Albanese said:“We will make it easier for young Australians to save in the future and we are going to make the system better and fairer as well. This is good for cost of living. Good for intergenerational fairness. Good for building Australia’s future.”

This is the government’s second recent round of changes to the HELP scheme .

In changes to indexation in this year’s budget the government announced it would cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe.

It capped the HELP indexation rate to be the lower of either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wages Price Index (WPI), backdated from June 1 last year. Indexation had been based on the CPI. Legislation for the budget change is currently before the parliament. Läs mer…