It did not get much media attention last week but the government’s legislation to reduce the HELP repayment threshold to $45 000 pa matters to graduates.  who unlike the deputy prime minister do not have friends who put them up rent free.  “Students undertake their degrees in order to better themselves and to equip themselves with the skills and knowledge to contribute to a better Australia. Students and graduates should be valued by the government, rather than seen as an easy target,” says new president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Natasha Abrahams.