Andrew Murray (WA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

The Superannuation Legislation Amendment Bill 2007 proposes amendments to Australian government civilian and military superannuation schemes contained in six related schedules. The overall purpose of the bill is to harmonise choice in super schemes for Australian government employees and to ensure that government superannuation schemes are in accord with recent amendments to the Australian superannuation system enacted via the simplified superannuation legislation.

The requirement for contributing members of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme to make the contributions to the CSS is removed from 1 July 2008, thereby making all member contributions voluntary and providing members with the same flexibility and incentives to contribute to superannuation available to the broader community. Eligible members of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme will be allowed to elect to leave the PSS and join other superannuation arrangements for payment of future contributions, which will provide eligible members with the flexibility for future contributions that is already available to most of the Australian workforce.

Members of the CSS will be able to obtain early release of their funded account balances on severe financial hardship and compassionate grounds from 1 January 2008. Previously cancelled spouse pensions will be prospectively restored from 1 January 2008. An amendment ensuring entitlements to benefits in the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 scheme relating to post-retirement marriages is consistent with the treatment in civilian schemes that is proposed, and an anomaly in the treatment of the benefits payable in the act scheme upon marriage breakdown is also rectified.

The committee report into this bill proposed five key recommendations which adequately summarised key concerns arising from this bill. I note the government agrees with three of the recommendations. Committee recommendations are minor in the context of the overall benefits proposed by the bill. Australian Democrat policy has consistently sought flexibility and choice in superannuation legislation. These amendments will provide choice and greater flexibility for civilian government and military employees, finally harmonising super choice for both government and non-government employees.

The Democrat amendment, which I will move in the committee stage of this bill, aims to implement the HREOC Same-sex: same entitlements report recommendations. It is drafted in the absence of a government initiative to address those recommendations. The Democrats have followed HREOC’s suggested amendment form as closely as we can. I would be delighted were the government to substitute their own amendments for mine, but there is no sign of that moral courage yet. I will move this amendment because this issue is urgent and this unwarranted discrimination is overdue for correction. Fifty-eight federal laws were identified by HREOC as needing similar amendments. Specifically the Democrat amendment will implement the HREOC de facto relationship definition.

The amendment is in line with HREOC’s preferred approach for a dual system: one set that recognises heterosexual marital relationships and a separate second set that acknowledges same-sex relationships which are non-marital. The Australian Democrats propose this amendment which will remove unnecessary sexual preference discrimination. If the government decides not to support the Democrat amendment, it will be because it does not support the removal of clauses in superannuation legislation that discriminate on the basis of sexual preference. In other words, the coalition would be continuing to uphold homophobic laws. Given the strong cross-party support for ending unjust discrimination including from many, many members of the cabinet and the coalition parties, this would be a very sad and wrongful outcome. HREOC has identified these particular acts as needing amendment to end this unjust discrimination. From page 380 of the HREOCSame-sex: same entitlements report, I quote the following points as discrimination under superannuation laws:

• A federal government employee’s surviving same-sex partner cannot access direct death benefits (lump sum or reversionary pension) available to a surviving opposite-sex partner (unless the employee joined the public service after 1 July 2005).
• The surviving child of a lesbian co-mother or gay co-father who was a federal government employee will not usually qualify for direct death benefits (lump sum or reversionary pension) available to the child of a birth mother or birth father.
• It is harder for a surviving same-sex partner to qualify for death benefits in private superannuation schemes (as a person in an ‘interdependency relationship’) than for a surviving opposite-sex partner (as a ‘spouse’).
• A surviving same-sex partner cannot usually qualify for a reversionary pension in a private superannuation scheme, which is available to an opposite-sex partner.
• It is harder for a surviving same-sex partner to access death benefits from a retirement savings account (as a person in an ‘interdependency relationship’) than for a surviving opposite-sex partner.
• It is harder for a surviving same-sex partner to access death benefits tax concessions than for a surviving opposite-sex partner.
• A same-sex partner cannot access the death benefits anti-detriment payment available to an opposite-sex partner.
• A same-sex partner cannot engage in superannuation contributions splitting and the associated tax advantages available to an opposite-sex partner.
• A same-sex partner cannot access the superannuation spouse tax offset available to an opposite-sex partner.
• A surviving same-sex partner of a federal judge cannot access the reversionary pension available to a surviving opposite-sex partner.
• A surviving same-sex partner of a Governor-General cannot access the allowance available to a surviving opposite-sex partner.

Chapter 13 on superannuation provides more detail about these and other superannuation entitlements.