Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I understand that's the objective that you've promulgated. I'm not sure that it's actually going be the effect, because there are many people in the workforce—casual workers, women, low-income earners—who are never going to get anywhere near a retirement income equivalent to the pension from superannuation, let alone exceeding it. The whole value, in some cases, of this life TPD through the life of their employment is what they're interested in.

You're taking a whole cohort who have $6,000 or less—someone who could be a new migrant to this country, a low-paid cleaner or a young worker. I understand clearly what you're promoting, but you have this awful responsibility as a minister: your own figures will tell you that 3½ per cent of this cohort, between 15 and 24, have dependants. Those are the ATO figures which you use to run your argument. My argument is this: if those people do not opt in and there is tragedy amongst those 3½ per cent, how are you going to live with that? You're saying that if they don't have an email address then that's their bad luck.