Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Prime Minister's cradle-to-the-grave approach to increasing inequality in Australian society. Instead of expanding opportunity for Australians at every stage of their lives, the Abbott government seems to be determined to take these opportunities away—from babies born in public hospitals in my electorate, forced to struggle as the government rips out more than $50 billion of hospital funding in this year's budget to the children studying in our schools, deprived of Gonski funding intended to ensure all children have access to a quality education; to the students in our universities, where the Prime Minister's higher education reforms will price many bright students from disadvantaged families out of the dream of a university education; to our pensioners who are seeing their age pensions cut; and, finally, to our self-funded retirees, whose retirement savings are now under attack from the Abbott government.

Under a dodgy deal signed with the Prime Minister's coalition partner, Clive Palmer—a noted everyman—the government has worked to make saving for retirement harder for everyday Australians. With the repeal of the mining tax came the repeal of the low-income superannuation contribution and a freeze on the lifting of the superannuation guarantee from nine to 12 per cent. Both of these measures were crucial to Australia's future not only in amassing a wealth of savings that could be invested in the economy over the long term but also in ensuring that all Australians would be able to live the retirement they deserved after a lifetime of work.

The low-income superannuation contribution was mostly targeted at remedying the inequalities that currently exist within our superannuation system. It allowed for a contribution of up to $500 towards the superannuation savings of those workers earning $37,000 per annum or less. It was crucial support for the members of our society least likely to have a strong personal superannuation balance when entering retirement.

In particular, the low-income superannuation contribution—as outlined by the member for Lalor in great detail—addressed the superannuation gap that currently exists between men and women. Over two thirds of those receiving the low-income superannuation contribution were women, and Industry Super Australia called the LISC:

… the single most important policy setting in the super system which helps to address the inequity in savings gap whereby women are currently retiring with about 40% less than men …

Those opposite can talk about PPL all they want but it will not address this gap.

I am sure the Minister for Women fought this measure hard in the cabinet room before rolling over and letting it through, but the Prime Minister, the Minister for Women and his Coalition partner, Clive Palmer, are not content with making it harder for our most disadvantaged women to save for their retirement. By freezing the increase in the superannuation guarantee, they have ensured that workers will have fewer savings when they retire. And, once again, this freeze will adversely affect those who had fewer retirement savings to begin with, in particular our youngest workers.

Modelling from Industry Super Australia suggests that, while a worker aged 50 earning $80,000 will lose $15,310 from their super, a worker aged 30 will lose double that amount, or over $31,000; if you are a worker aged 50 earning $175,000 or more, these changes will see you lose around $33,000 from your retirement savings; but our 30-year-old workers on $50,000 a year will lose around $20,000—more than half that amount from a far smaller pool of earnings to begin with.

But the true evidence of the Abbott government's commitment to inequality isn't in making the lives of our low-income workers even harder; no, it is in its efforts to make the lives of our high-income workers even easier. The Abbott government has complemented the inequality introduced by these superannuation changes with its move to cut taxes on superannuation earnings of over $100,000 a year. Sixteen thousand of Australia's wealthiest citizens will pay even less tax on their super; while at the same time 8.4 million Australians will face a future after work with far less money to survive on.

Once again, we see the perverted priorities of this Prime Minister—a prime minister who promised before the election that changes to superannuation were off the table, and that there would be 'no adverse changes' in store for Australians. Yesterday, the Prime Minister told the House that his attack on the retirement savings of working Australians was justified, because he had promised to do so at the last election. That just sums it up.

This is a government that studiously keeps its promises to the top end of town, while breaking every promise it has made to everyday Australians. This is an extreme, out-of-touch government that has broken its commitment to working Australians and it will pay the price at the next election.

On election eve, the Prime Minister promised to be a government for all Australians. Since then, this has been a government for the rich and few, a government for the 16,000 Australians with more than a million dollars in their super and one that makes the rest of Australia—pensioners, patients, students, the unemployed and low-income earners—pay the price for it. Australians did not vote for this at the last election. They do not want it and they will have another say at the next election.

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