Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government helping Australians earn more, keep more of what they earn and retire with more? What other approaches is the government being asked to consider?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for Dunkley for her question. In her relatively short time in this place, she has been a real champion for the working people of her community and our country. This week in the parliament, our payday super reforms will help ensure that more Australians get paid their super when they get paid their salary. It's about making sure that workers' super is paid and paid on time. It's another proud Labor reform, which will mean more super for workers. That's our goal and that's what we are delivering.

It's not the only important change we're making to strengthen our super system. We legislated the objective. We increased the super guarantee four times to reach 12 per cent. We expanded the coverage of the performance test. We've aligned the financial reporting with public companies. We've got new mandatory service standards, reforming the retirement phase. We're paying superannuation on paid parental leave for the first time. And now our changes to better-targeted superannuation concessions and the low-income superannuation tax offset will mean that 1.3 million Australians will get more super when they retire.

These changes will make the superannuation system fairer from top to bottom. They mean a better deal and more super for low-income workers, and that's what those opposite are really objecting to, because, when they apply their narrow, extreme right-wing ideology in government, workers in this country don't get a look-in. We saw that for the best part of a decade. They are always looking to undermine, diminish and attack superannuation because they know that super is a proud creation of this side of the House.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left are going to cease interjecting. The Leader of the Nationals—

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under this Labor government, Australians are earning more because we got real wages growing again. They're keeping more of what they earn because we're cutting taxes three times. They will retire with more as well because of these changes. Those opposite want the workers of this country to earn less, to keep less and to retire with less. They haven't learned a thing from the last election. They haven't changed a bit. They are divided, they are divisive and they are in disarray. But this side of the House is delivering for the working people of this country, and that's the difference. Nowhere is that clearer than in our efforts to make our super system stronger, fairer and more sustainable, and, because of those efforts, more workers will have more super when they retire, and the system will be fairer, from top to bottom.

Opposition members interjecting—

Ask me a question about it.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Treasurer is warned.