Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

Have I read the bill? Yes. I've had a look at the EM too, and, sadly, it's time I won't get back. But the reality is, yes, I have had a look. I've had a good look. This is what's wrong with the bill that is being proposed by your people. There's a problem with this bill that goes to something that I'm particularly interested at the moment, and that is when bad legislation that doesn't look forward enough and that doesn't go to looking at the consequences of its design causes a big problem, a moral hazard.

One of the things that's a problem with this bill is that it would potentially construct the gaming of preservation rules and social security payment eligibility. Now, setting up a fraudulent structure that allows the Australian people to be ripped off is absolutely not an outcome that ordinary hard-working Australians or anyone who's running a successful small business, or a large business for that matter, would think is good.

We've seen that before. When John Howard brought in the rules that changed the number of partnerships from 20, to allow places like PwC and KPMG to have up to a thousand partners, Senator Conroy, my former colleague in this place, rose to his feet and said that it was creating a moral hazard. Boy, was he right, because now we see in the full light of day how, when you don't think carefully about fraudsters, legislation gets created that allows fraud. Decent, hardworking, taxpaying Australians at all levels of the income spectrum pay a price for careless legislation, and this is certainly that.

I wish I had more time, because I can't get through everything that is actually going on to support women. The mischaracterisation of this bill as a support for women is just another joke from a party that has barely a woman in the House. I won't say that about the Senate; I respect the election of the women who are here in the Senate. I have had the pleasure of working with them in the national interest on committees, and I will always acknowledge and respect their roles. But there's barely a woman amongst them on the far side. There are no women inside speaking up loudly. Women can't get through a preselection process in the Liberal-National party. That's why they are where they are.

By comparison, we have women everywhere in our party, women everywhere in the Senate and women everywhere on the Labor benches in the other chamber. Because of that, and because of our longstanding commitment to equity and to women, we are taking practical action. So since 1 July last year, parents of newborn and adopted children have been eligible for superannuation to be paid on their government funded paid parental leave. These payments commence next week, from 1 July 2026. We did that. It's real, and it's going to help millions of Australians. It's not to help 103,000 high-wealth individuals avoid tax. We said that we were going to pay super on Commonwealth government funded paid parental leave to benefit around 180,000 Australian families every year. Ninety-five per cent of Commonwealth parental leave pay flows through to women. That's real stuff—real money in real Australians' pockets helping them to get ahead—not tax benefits for the very, very wealthy.

The Super Members Council estimates that super on paid parental leave will narrow the gender super gap by about a quarter. Super Member Council CEO Misha Schubert said:

We're not talking baby steps here—this is a huge stride forward to tackle women's retirement inequity.

So that's where we've started, to help women on leave get the superannuation on that pay so that it goes into their account. With compound interest, that makes a big difference. That's what superannuation does and that's why we are making sure it's fit for purpose, making sure that it supports women to grow their wealth and to grow their opportunity to live a fantastic and dignified retirement in this wonderful country of ours.

Paying super on paid parental leave is going to provide a boost to the retirement savings for those receiving Commonwealth parental leave pay, and it will particularly—significantly—help low-paid and vulnerable workers. So if you're not one of the 103,000, if you're a low-paid or vulnerable worker, if you're an authentic, decent Aussie who believes in fairness, this bill is not your kind of bill. This bill has got 'Liberal-National party' written all over it. It's only about the few people in the country that they want to make more wealthy at your expense.