In the middle of the election campaign, the minimum debt for a creditor-initiated bankruptcy went up from $2000 to $5000, half of the $10,000 limit that Labor previously talked about. The rest of the changes to bankruptcy laws come into effect on 1 October.Labor Attorney General Robert McClelland's 2007/08 language about removing the punitive elements of the medieval bankruptcy laws for first-time co-operative bankrupts disappeared quickly and long ago, under a barrage of bank lobbying.The stay of execution by a creditor for people considering bankruptcy has been extended to 21 days from seven days, but even that small step is a compromise on Labor's previous 28 day proposal. Bankruptcy still means years before being 'discharged.' McClelland had previously suggested a co-operative first-time bankrupt be discharged immediately all creditors have been identified. They should get back to being productive members of the economy, said McClelland.In the end, the limit of McClelland's clean-out of the medieval bankruptcy laws was the abolition of the old bankruptcy districts. The government still allows creditors to treat first time co-operative bankrupts the same as the worst repeat offenders. No travel, a life-long black mark on your permanent record, probably no house and only an old car. That is the future for many consumers who take debt marketing to heart. And all that for an average return of two cents in the dollar.