Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the 2007 commitment by the former Prime Minister, the member for Griffith, 'There will be no change to the superannuation laws, not one jot, not one tiddle.' Will the Prime Minister recommit the Labor Party to making no more detrimental, unexpected changes to superannuation taxes?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the National Party for his question. I am very glad that we have moved to change superannuation so that 3.6 million Australians will have an ability to be up to $500 better off.

I am very concerned. I presume the Leader of the National Party supports the Leader of the Opposition's plan to take those benefits away from 3.6 million low-income Australians, that he supports the Leader of the Opposition's plan to hit the retirement savings of people who earn less than $37,000 a year. So, when we are talking about superannuation changes, let us be very clear. Who has a plan for cuts that would hit millions of Australians? Who has a plan for the cruellest of cuts that would hit Australians on the lowest incomes? Who has a plan to cut the superannuation of women who work part time? The Leader of the Opposition. I am very glad that the Leader of the National Party has raised this question because it enables me to alert the Australian community to the danger to the superannuation of low-income earners posed by the Leader of the Opposition.

As the Leader of the National Party would well know, Labor is the party that brought compulsory superannuation to this country. It was fought every step of the way with a fear campaign in which people were told the Australian economy would be destroyed. It reminds you of some more recent fear campaigns we have seen from the opposition. Universal superannuation was fought, and described as a con job, by this Leader of the Opposition. We are the political party that delivered it. We are proud of it. We are the political party that is increasing it and we are the political party determined to benefit low-income earners, whilst the Leader of the National Party and the Leader of the Opposition are there trying to take benefits away. I would also remind the Leader of the National Party that if he were paying any attention to the economic debate in this country, he would know we addressed questions of superannuation, including superannuation withdrawals, when we released the tax review in May 2010. I refer him to the media release which accompanied that report and said the government reaffirms that it will never remove tax-free superannuation payments for the over-60s. I refer him to that statement and I would ask him to please say to the Leader of the Opposition: 'Don't hurt 3.6 million Australians. Don't hurt the lowest income Australians in our country. Do not hurt these men and women.'