Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this bill, unlike those on the opposite side who are not supporting this bill, based on what we've heard so far from different speeches yesterday and today. It doesn't surprise me that they're not supporting this bill. When you look at the history of superannuation and superannuation legislation in this House, and in the older house down the road where superannuation was first mooted, discussed and proposed in the Hawke-Keating years, it has been opposed every single way by the opposition. Every time there's been legislation in this House to better superannuation for workers, it's been opposed by the other side. So it's no surprise that they'll be opposing this. What are they opposing? They're opposing a better superannuation system for low-income workers. Why do those opposite not want low-income workers to have a better system and a super tax offset which means there'll be more money in their retirement so they can retire with dignity? If someone can tell me why that is wrong, maybe I can see the sense in it. But that's what this bill does.

This bill is delivering more help to low-income workers. It reforms the superannuation system to make it stronger, to make it fairer for everyone and to make it more sustainable. It boosts those low-income workers superannuation tax offsets and better targets superannuation concessions for large balances. So, as I said, it does not surprise me that once again we're seeing an opposition who is opposing superannuation. They opposed the whole concept of it back in the eighties when it was proposed under the Hawke-Keating government. In fact, they even overturned legislation, which was proposed and brought to this place in 2013, to take the super requirement up to 12 per cent. Then—I mentioned this the other day when I was speaking on the other bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025—Joe Hockey overturned it when he came into being Treasurer in 2013. He said, 'No, we're not going to give that increase to workers.' It was 1.5 per cent or 2.05 per cent, or whatever it was back then. It took another Labor government to give that increase to workers. That little increase that they receive makes a huge difference to their superannuation at the end of their retirement plan, which means there will be more in their pockets.

So this bill is increasing the low-income super tax offset and also super concessions. It's targeting super concessions, paying super on paid parental leave and introducing payday super. Payday super is very important. We've seen millions and millions of dollars that have never been paid into super. Many, many constituents have come to see me. They've mainly been young people that have been working in apprenticeships or have started their very first job. They're basically unaware of their industrial rights and of what superannuation is. They usually speak to a third party who says to them, 'Have you been getting your super paid?' and they discover when they look in their account that no super has been paid. We've all seen situations like that, because, when you're paying it every three months, it's so easy to fall behind and not pay it. The legislation will mean that it's paid on every payday there and then, which makes it easier for both the employer and the employee.

Some of the other things that we've done include increasing the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent. As I said earlier, it should have been increased back in 2013, but it was overturned by the former coalition government. We've also legislated the objective for superannuation. This legislation implements the government's policy to better target concessions available to individuals with superannuation balances that exceed $3 million, which is a very small group. It's less than 0.5 per cent of all superannuants and people who are contributing to super funds. It maintains the concessional treatment of superannuation for all taxpayers and makes superannuation tax concessions more targeted at those people with large balances.

The measures in this bill reflect the principle of a fairer tax system. It will also rebalance superannuation tax concessions so they're directed where they matter the most and ensure that support goes to those who need it the most, not to those with extraordinary balances. The vast majority of people that will be getting the tax offsets are workers, like nurses, teachers, apprentices, carers, hospitality staff, small-business employees and countless others, so nothing changes except the reassurance that the system will be fairer and stronger. By adjusting the concessional tax rates, as I said, of the very high balances, the bill helps protect retirement incomes for everyday Australians while preserving the long-term health of the superannuation system itself. Super's not just a financial instrument. It's a lifelong safety net, built year by year, shift by shift when you're working shifts, sacrifice by sacrifice—small increments that then should enable you to retire in dignity. That's what it's all about.

Importantly, these reforms do more than protect. They lift up those who need it the most. Raising the low-income super tax offset threshold from $37,000 to $45,000 will ensure that workers earning modest wages, like childcare workers, retail assistants, disability support workers, cleaners and early career employees, will receive a fairer tax concession on their contributions. What is wrong with that? Why is the opposition opposing these low-income workers getting a fairer tax concession on their contribution? That's the difference. It isn't an abstract. That's the reality. For some families, super is more than just savings. It's what's going to give them dignity in retirement. These are not small changes. They're changes that honour the effort of people who work incredibly hard for every dollar they earn. These changes strengthen the superannuation system so that it remains a pillar of security, not a source of inequity, and they ensure that a system built for all Australians continues to serve all Australians fairly, responsibly and with an eye to the future.

At the heart of this discussion is not just tax rates and legislation. It's people. As I said, it's about people retiring in dignity and people being able to continue putting food on the table, paying their bills and not worrying about where their next dollar is going to come from when they retire. It's their futures, and it's their right to retire with that dignity, security and peace. It's our shared responsibility to make sure the system protects that right, not just today but for generations to come. These are the decisions that we don't make in haste but with time and consultation of a broad range of unions, industries and other stakeholders supporting this expansion of eligibility for the low-income super tax offset. I'll repeat that. I love repeating that because I can't believe that the opposition would oppose it. Eligibility for the low-income super tax offset means more money in the super accounts for low-income workers. It means more money in the pockets of those low-income workers. In my electorate, I have all the restaurants in the CBD. There are many, many part-time workers struggling. Perhaps they're students working part time. This will make a huge difference to those people.

The steps in this legislation today put in place actions that we have full confidence will work and benefit Australian families and households. This is an important bill. It makes it a fairer balance for superannuation, and it ensures that those low-income workers will have more money in their super. It'll ensure that those low-income workers will retire with more and retire with dignity, and that's what superannuation is all about. It's not about being used as an offset to save on taxes and do a whole range of other things. It's there as a savings account for workers to be able to retire in dignity. That was the focus and purpose of superannuation back in the eighties when it was firsts proposed that we wanted workers to be able to retire with dignity and to know that when they retire they weren't going to be just wanting the social security pension, as it was called at the time, but to be able to retire in dignity with their own money. The way to do this is through a savings scheme, the superannuation plan, that was put in place by a Labor government way back in the late eighties. What we see today is thousands of workers that have an account, a retirement fund and have some income coming to them when they retire. It's an important bill and a bill that should be supported by all of us in this place. Shame on the opposition for not supporting it and for not supporting low-income workers.

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