Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Bill 2026 and the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Bill 2026. These bills are about fairness. They are about dignity in retirement. But before I talk in depth about those, I just cannot help but pick up on what the opposition are saying when they talk about fairness and taxation. Remember, this is an opposition that rejected both tax cuts that have been provided by this government. They voted against them. Never forget it. They are about making sure the superannuation system in Australia, the system built by Labor, is unfair.

This bill is about fairness. Superannuation is a bit like compound interest; it is one of the modern marvels of investment in the future. It builds upon itself. Superannuation is about working for every Australian. It works for millions of Australians who rely on it, not just for a very few who have extraordinarily large balances. In my electorate, very few people have more than $3 million in their superannuation accounts. Nationwide, it's about 87,000 people out of a population of nearly 29 million. I just want to say that again: around 87,000 people in Australia have a balance of more than $3 million. And good luck to them. They've worked hard and they've accrued that, but it is a very small number across a population of 29 million. It's less than half a per cent.

Superannuation provides working Australians with choices—choices as to how and where you live in retirement and how you choose to spend your retirement savings. It might be with your family; you might join the grey nomads; or you might simply enjoy the garden that you've worked on throughout your working life and will now have more time to spend in it. The Australian superannuation system is designed to ensure that your quality of life does not diminish when you finish your working life. I was 22 when superannuation was introduced as compulsory, and I'm very grateful to have been a recipient of this incredible legislation and forethought. My generation's retirement wealth has increased significantly due to this fair and significant legislation that creates a secure retirement for all working Australians.

Like all legislation though, it must be amended for the challenges and changes of our time. We have to be nimble in government, with an eye to the future too. That's why, since we've returned to government, we have increased the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent, in keeping with inflation. We've legislated the objective of superannuation—'to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way'—to ensure that your personal super works for you. We've committed to paying super on paid parental leave, and that's massive. It's so that women are no longer left behind simply because they take leave to have a family and support that family. We've introduced payday super—that's such an important thing too—so that workers are paid their entitlements when they earn them, to ensure that they're the beneficiaries of those earnings from the moment they earn them. And now, through this legislation, we are better targeting super concessions and delivering more help to low-income workers. This is careful reform, it's principled reform, and it's reform that's grounded in fairness—the very basis of the superannuation system.

Let's be clear about what this bill does and, quite frankly, what it doesn't do. Balances under $3 million will continue to have earnings taxed at up to 15 per cent—exactly as they are now. I say to everyone in my electorate: have a look at the balance of your super today. To clarify, if you have less than $3 million in your super, there will be no change. This is the case, and, if you're like me, it does not change. It does not change the concessional treatment of superannuation for you, which means that you won't pay any more tax than you do now. Don't believe some of the mistruths that are being peddled around on this. It does better target concessions for those very, very few Australians who do have a very large super balance—those that have more than $3 million in their account. If this is not you, then you don't need to worry about that.

Super tax concessions cost the budget more than $60 billion a year, and that figure is projected to exceed the cost of the age pension in the 2040s. That means that those really-high-income earners with a huge amount of superannuation are paying the same tax as you. Around 38 per cent of super earnings concessions go to the top 10 per cent of income earners. That just doesn't seem right to me, and it probably doesn't seem right to those people that aren't earning that as well. Fifty-four per cent of those concessions—that's more than half—goes to the top 20 per cent of earners, and that's just not fair. If we want to ensure superannuation and a comfortable retirement for everyone, then that's not suitable either.

Put simply, superannuation was not designed to reduce the taxation of the wealthy—it just wasn't—banking their excess funds in low-taxing safety nets. That is not the premise of superannuation. It is meant to be fair. It was designed to provide a fair go for workers who work hard, pay their tax every week and strive to have a better life for themselves and their family. That is truly what superannuation is about. It's not about being a tax shelter.

For the 2026-27 income year, earnings on superannuation balances between $3 million and $10 million will be taxed at up to 30 per cent. Earnings on balances above $10 million will be taxed at up to 40 per cent. Earnings on balances below $3 million will remain taxed at up to 15 per cent. In my electorate, the number of people impacted by this measure could comfortably fit inside the front bar of the Commercial Hotel in Morpeth. Meanwhile, the benefits of a stronger, more sustainable super system flow to millions—flow to many.

That is not about punishing success either—it really isn't; good luck to those people with those big balances—but it is about making sure that the system is sustainable, designed to deliver retirement income and used for exactly that purpose. Superannuation is about providing income for a dignified retirement, not about warehousing tens of millions of dollars in concessionally taxed environments.

These changes are simply about ensuring that superannuation is used for what it's designed for and that it's not a gateway to avoiding paying your fair share of tax. Australians are a proud people. We are diverse, we are humble and we value a fair go—'fair shake of the sauce bottle,' someone once said. I want to ensure that superannuation is fair, that it works and that it remains sustainable for my children and my grandchildren—and for everyone else's in this country, to be honest. While a very small number of Australians with very, very large balances will be required to pay a minimal increase to their concession, affecting their overall wealth minimally, it will mean that those with lower incomes, like childcare workers, nurses and police officers, will receive a boost, meaning that they will be able to retire well with less reliance on the Commonwealth system.

From 1 July 2027, the low-income offset will increase by $310, from $500 to $810. The eligibility threshold will rise from $37,000 to $45,000. This will ensure that low-income workers receive a fairer tax concession on their super contribution, aligning with the government's third round of tax cuts. Remember those tax cuts—the ones that the opposition did not support and did not vote for? What does this mean in practice? It means that a worker can receive up to $810 per year paid into their super account. On average, affected workers will receive around $410 more. Over a working life, that's around $15,000 extra at retirement. That may not seem like a lot to someone who is very wealthy, but, to someone who isn't wealthy, $15,000 can be a game changer. It can be the difference between choosing to turn on your air conditioner on a 40-degree day and upgrading to solar power to reduce your electricity bills. In communities like mine, $15,000 can mean the difference between financial stress and financial stability or between relying entirely on government support and having a little bit of your own savings to draw on.

We also need to acknowledge that there is a gender gap in super. Women retire with significantly less super than men, often because part-time work and time out of the workforce caring for children or elderly parents make their average wages lower. By boosting the income offset, paying super on paid parental leave and strengthening the system overall, we're addressing structural inequality. This is not just economic reform; it is social reform, and it's important. It recognises that care work, paid and unpaid, has real value—and I want to thank the women in my community who do so much work that goes unpaid. It ensures that women who have contributed so much to our families and our communities aren't left behind in retirement. Women in their 50s are the most likely to become homeless in Australia and are the most likely to find it difficult to find work in our ever-changing times. Their super balances are significantly smaller than their male counterparts. If all is okay, it is likely that they will be working into their 70s to ensure their super balances will sustain them, yet they're the most likely to have worked full time since their teens. Most have done unpaid work, and many have volunteered more than most. We can fix this for future generations, and therefore we should. And it's really that simple.

If we're serious about protecting superannuation for future generations, we must ensure its sustainability. Tax concessions are a form of government support, and, like all government support, they should be targeted where they are needed most. 'Self-funded' can be an oxymoron if, by that simple term, you are forgetting that tax concessions are in fact a form of support. Let's not sugar-coat that. I want nothing more than to be a self-funded retiree and pay my fair share, and I want other generations to be able to do that too. I'm Labor like that; I believe in fairness. You need to work hard and pay your way, but you should get what you're entitled to as well. That's what we believe in. This bill does this. It preserves concessions for everyone saving for retirement, it improves equity by reducing concessions for a very small number with extremely large balances and it strengthens the budget in a responsible way, because, if we don't take measured and sensible action now, the cost of super concessions will continue to balloon, placing pressure on future budgets and limiting our ability to invest in essential services. We can support retirement incomes, we can support fairness and we can support fiscal responsibility all at the same time. That is what this legislation does. It ticks all the boxes of what it means to be Australian: proud, fair and generous.

When I speak to people in my electorate, they don't ask for special treatment. They ask for fairness. They ask for security. They ask for the opportunity to retire with dignity after decades of hard work. And, let me tell you, in my seat I've got some of the hardest working people in some of the toughest industries that generate the most income and wealth for our nation. I see them driving to work and doing that work every single day, and I respect them for it. This legislation reflects my values and it reflects their values. They are, largely, Labor values. These values mean that the system should work for ordinary Australians, that concessions should be targeted fairly, that women and low-income earners deserve support and that sustainability of the system really matters over the long term.

Superannuation is one of the greatest achievements of modern Australia. It has transformed the retirement of millions and, quite frankly, those superannuation funds have changed the trajectory of the investment of our nation as well. They are an incredible wealth for our country. We must continue to refine it and strengthen it, to ensure that it serves its core purpose.

These bills do exactly that. They deliver more help to more people. They better target concessions. They strengthen equity. They safeguard sustainability. For the factory worker, for the aged-care worker, for the young apprentice working to be a tradie, for the enrolled nurse, for the hospitality worker, for the shiftworker, for the miner, for the part timer and for the casual, these bills are changing Australia for the better. It's a reform that builds a stronger, fairer super system and I commend it to the House.

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