Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Labor government continues to demonstrate its complete inability to listen by rushing through changes which will damage the retirement savings of Australians. Superannuation is an incredibly important issue for the electors in Ryan, whether it is properly supporting those who want to voluntarily contribute to their super funds or helping those who want to run their own self-managed super funds. Yet, over the last five years in government Labor has hit Australians' savings with more than $8 billion in increased taxes and charges on superannuation.

And they have not stopped there—they are also making it harder for Australians to save for their retirement. The House recently debated the fourth tranche of legislation to implement the MySuper proposals, recommendations from the Cooper super system review. Australians were fortunate that the government finally listened to the warnings of the coalition and implemented belated amendments to allow trustees to cap asset-based administration fees. These amendments reflected the inherent nature of superannuation account administration—that is, they involve large fixed costs such as in set-up and reporting relative to the variable costs. Without such an amendment which would cap asset-based administration fees, a $500,000 account could, for example, be charged one hundred times greater than a $5,000 account, irrespective of the fact that the cost to administer the two accounts should be quite similar. This would lead to an inherently inequitable situation for Australians.

The coalition also proposed amendments that would require superannuation boards to comprise at least one-third independent directors or trustees. This is one of the key recommendations of the Cooper review to improve governance standards on superannuation boards. Appointing genuinely independent directors would assist in part to break the stranglehold that unions have on Australians' superannuation accounts. What the Labor government does not understand is that superannuation is and should always be about Australians saving for their retirement, yet how they treat superannuation accounts and boards is yet another way they try to entrench union influence—and because the actual representation of the interests of Australian workers by unions in the public and private sectors continues to decline, this Labor government is determined to enforce that influence through government legislation. Australians were fortunate that these amendments passed and were in place, if only for a few hours. The coalition was able to pass these amendments because some Labor government members thought that attending a lunch in the Great Hall was more important than attending the chamber and voting in a division.

If successful at the next election, the coalition will pursue this important change to superannuation corporate governance arrangements in government. The government cut $3.3 billion in its hit on low-income earners through their various reductions to the government super co-contributions established under the previous coalition government. The government reduced the contribution from $1,500 to just $500. The government are also lowering the thresholds at which they are phased out.

A coalition government would look to provide certainty and stability in superannuation by not making unexpected detrimental changes to the superannuation system in the next term. This will allow people to save for their retirement and to plan with confidence. The coalition would increase the compulsory superannuation contribution from nine per cent to 12 per cent; improve corporate governance arrangements for superannuation; properly address the issue of excess contributions to make sure Australians saving for their retirements are not unfairly penalised for genuine unintended errors; pursue opportunities to cut unnecessary red tape in superannuation; remove regulatory barriers currently restricting product innovation and improved options to manage financial risks in retirement; and revisit concessional contribution caps and super co-contributions for lower income earners once the budget is back in a strong enough position.

The coalition will conduct a financial systems inquiry which will include the superannuation industry. We will continue to consult with the broad cross-section of stakeholders in the superannuation industry in the lead-up to this year's election.

Earlier this year, the Association of Financial Advisers called for an amnesty on making changes to the taxation of superannuation in the budget in order to restore consumer faith in the Australian retirement system. AFA president Michael Nowak said that if governments want more people to fund their own retirement, consumer confidence in superannuation must be strengthened rather than undermined. He said:

If consumer confidence falters, Australia will have nothing more than a mandatory superannuation system which offers insufficient incentive for additional voluntary contributions …

This superannuation policy, like so many other areas, demonstrates a chaotic, divided and dysfunctional Labor government which has no plans for Australia's future. The coalition's plan will deliver a strong, prosperous economy and a safe and secure Australia. The coalition will deliver hope, reward and opportunity.