Rowan Holzberger (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a w-h-o-l-e—so superannuation as a w-h-o-l-e should be able to make decisions about its financial future. In some ways, when government gets involved in that, it distorts the individual need to take care of one's own finances. I sort of do understand that. But the thing is that, without superannuation, there wouldn't be somewhere around $4.3 trillion in national savings, which people are able to retire into at the moment. Without superannuation, people would be retiring into a bleak future.

One of the things that I learned along the way was this idea of pay yourself first. You should put 10 per cent away so that you can create a pool of savings, which will ultimately act as a buffer if you get yourself into some sort of financial trouble. But sooner or later it will turn into a pool in which you can invest, and then, if you live carefully and frugally and adjust your outgoings so that your incomings match, then you can retire. So I really do understand that if you can take that personal responsibility over your own finances you can achieve financial freedom. I think that is a goal which is achieved on both sides.

Where I think there is a difference of opinion, though, is that there is that ideal, but then there is a reality, and life gets in the way. What compulsory superannuation does is take that 10 per cent—now up to 12 per cent—put it away for people and invest it in something that's not risky and that's sensible so that ultimately people can achieve financial freedom. While it is a noble goal for people to take charge of their own finances, when you actually look at the whole community, individual circumstances mean that that doesn't happen in practice.

That's why I really do implore those on the other side to—they're going to be making decisions about their superannuation policy that they take to the next election. The last policy they took would have been disastrous. It would have meant that people would have raided their balances, it would have pushed house prices up, and it would have been disastrous. For example, in February 2021, when the now shadow treasurer was the chair of the Standing Committee on Economics, an article in the Saturday Paper said:

The Liberal backbencher says that if people could use the money in their super account—all of it, if necessary—they might be able to fund the deposit for a … home.

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