Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Every Australian worker deserves two simple things: to keep more of what they earn and to retire with dignity. But for too long low-income workers—those keeping our cafes running, caring for our elderly and cleaning our schools and hospitals—have been left behind. The Albanese Labor government is fixing that. The low-income superannuation tax offset, the LISTO, exists to make sure low-income earners don't pay more tax on their super contributions than they do on their wages. It's automatic, it's fair and it's essential. Under the Liberals, it was frozen for eight long years. Labor is changing that. From 1 July 2027, we will increase the LISTO from $310 to $810 and lift the income eligibility threshold from $37,000 to $45,000. This means low-income workers will finally receive a fair tax concession on their super. This change will benefit 1.3 million Australians, with an average boost of $410 to their super. That's around $15,000 extra at retirement. In Bonner alone, over 7½ thousand workers will keep an extra $415 a year. That's the barista in Belmont, the hairdresser in Hemmant and the cleaner in Carindale—real workers keeping more of their own money.

What did those opposite do when they had the chance to support workers in their retirement? The answer is nothing. The LISTO remained frozen for eight long years. Wages went backwards for five consecutive quarters. Under Labor, we now have the strongest annual real wages growth in five years and the longest period of real wages growth above 0.7 per cent in a decade. We've legislated to protect penalty rates because workers rely on them. Only Labor backs workers. The coalition never have.

Economic inequality is gender inequality. Women face higher health costs, carry more unpaid care and retire with less super. More than 750,000 additional Australians with income between $37,000 and $45,000 will now become eligible for LISTO, including more than 450,000 women. Almost 500,000 Australians with income below $37,000 who were already eligible will also receive a higher LISTO payment, including almost 300,000 women. The workers who stand to benefit from this change include over 100,000 sales assistants, over 50,000 admin workers and over 50,000 aged-care and disability carers, the majority of whom are women.

We know the facts. Women take more time out of the workforce to care for children and ageing parents. Women are more likely to work part time or casually. Women earn less across their lifetime. The result? Between the ages of 60 and 64, men have a median super balance of $205,000; women have $154,000—almost a quarter less. From the age of 60, 62 per cent of men have super, compared with just 52 per cent of women, and one in four women over 60 live below the poverty line. Almost 60 per cent of older female renters live in poverty. This is unacceptable. Labor will not allow another generation of women to retire poor. Because Labor unfroze and expanded the LISTO, women—especially those in aged care, early education and health—will keep more of what they earn.

This sits alongside expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks, paying super on parental leave and passing payday super laws to stop employers from ripping off workers' retirement savings. Together, these reforms are life changing. Superannuation is a Labor idea and a Labor achievement. It was built so Australians could retire with security earned through work, not inherited through wealth. By reforming the LISTO, the Albanese Labor government is ensuring a fairer superannuation system for the many, not the privileged few. Australian workers deserve dignity in retirement, and this Labor government will always fight to deliver it.

See this speech in context