Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—It has been pre-election policy from the Labor Party to ensure that there is a competitive, objective, transparent process to select the default superannuation funds under modern awards. For the last two years, default superannuation funds under modern awards have been identified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, first, and then Fair Work Australia, without following an objective, transparent, competitive process. The result is that there is a closed shop, anticompetitive arrangement which is not in the best interest of employees and superannuants across Australia. It is not giving them the best possible value in terms of their retirement incomes.

It is absolutely time to act. The opposition advised the government two years ago that this would be a problem, and it has become a problem. There is a closed shop, a captive market, which this government is protecting especially for union superannuation funds. Minister Shorten is very reluctant to act on this pre-election commitment of the Labor Party. He wants to protect for as long as possible the closed shop, anticompetitive arrangement that currently exists. That is why he does not want to act on this Labor Party pre-election commitment until 30 June 2013.

Mr Deputy President Ferguson, it is very important that this process gets underway as quickly as possible. It is very important for the Productivity Commission to do this work. Much of this information is already available through the superannuation ratings agencies like Morningstar, Chant West and Standard & Poor’s. This is a comparatively easy piece of work to do. It is important for the minister to start acting in the public interest on these sorts of issues rather than letting his union bias get in the way.

Question agreed to.