By Andrew Brown in Canberra

Anthony Albanese has laid down the groundwork for what a second term in government may look like, as Labor aims for a political reset ahead of next year’s federal election.

In an address to the party faithful in Adelaide, the prime minister signalled education would be a key part of a Labor second-term agenda.

Mr Albanese used the speech to unveil plans to cut HECS debt for university students by 20 per cent, should Labor win the next election, and create 100,000 fee-free TAFE places each year.

“These policies are our next big step, and they won’t be the last, because Labor will always be the party of education,” he said on Sunday in the South Australian capital.

“We deal with the challenges that are in front of us, and we do it in a way that doesn’t just anticipate but also creates that better future for all of us.

“That principle will be at the heart of the positive and ambitious plan we take to the Australian people next year. At the next election, the choice our nation faces will be as clear and important as it has ever been.”

The speech comes as the government looks for a reset following a political furore after it was revealed the prime minister had previously received flight upgrades from Qantas and that he had purchased – with his fiancee – a multi-million dollar house on the NSW Central Coast.

Mr Albanese used the speech as a rallying cry for the government’s list of achievements, setting up an election on cost-of-living issues and Labor’s own record.

The national vote, due to be held by the end of May, looms as the government and the coalition run neck and neck on a two-party basis in a number of recent opinion polls.

“We came to office knowing this was a time of serious and urgent challenges, global economic uncertainty, a worldwide surge in inflation and energy prices and Australia’s relationships with our own region under strain,” Mr Albanese said.

“Together, we have faced a global storm, and we’ve navigated it in the Australian way, the Labor way, not by cutting the services Australians count on.

“We can build Australia’s future stronger and fairer than ever before, and we can make sure that the people who have carried the weight of today’s challenges share the rewards of tomorrow’s opportunities.”

The rally was held in Adelaide, where Labor is seeking to retain six of the city’s seven electorates, while also winning the seat of Sturt, currently held by the coalition by less than 0.5 per cent.

Mr Albanese flagged energy would also be a centrepiece of election campaigning, following Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s policy of establishing nuclear reactors across the country.

“He’s wrong about our country and his agenda is all wrong for Australia, because the challenges facing us won’t be solved by cutting,” he said.

“The opportunities ahead of us won’t be seized by wrecking.

“This is a time for building.”