Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Senator Coonan. Will the minister please inform the Senate about measures the government is taking to improve the retirement incomes of Australians? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Nash for the question and for her ongoing interest in ensuring Australians can plan and prepare for a comfortable retirement. Senators will be aware that in this year’s budget the government announced the most far-reaching and visionary reforms to superannuation ever seen in Australia. The plan comprises a package of broad-ranging reforms of superannuation taxation, the age pension assets test, superannuation contribution rules and superannuation payment rules to apply from 1 July 2007. The government has consulted on these reforms, and more than 1,500 written submissions and more than 3,500 phone calls were received, which was quite an extraordinary response.

Following this consultation, the Treasury yesterday announced a comprehensive package of measures and a national plan to simplify and streamline superannuation in Australia. As part of this package, there will be no tax on benefits paid out of the taxed super fund for people who are aged 60 years or over, no tax on lump sums and no tax on pensions. Tax arrangements for super will become less complex, making super the preferred savings vehicle for Australians. Reasonable benefits limits will be abolished, as will age based contributions. We will extend the incredibly successful super co-contribution to the self-employed and allow the self-employed to claim a 100 per cent deduction for all contributions. There will be simple rules whereby employer contributions of $50,000 per annum will be allowed and $1,500 of undeducted contributions.

The Treasurer also announced yesterday that there would be transitional measures to the new arrangements. These transitional arrangements will allow people to continue with their retirement plans and enable them to reap the full benefits of these wide-ranging reforms. Ultimately, as a result of these reforms, Australians will have more flexibility over how much of their superannuation they take and when they take it. It will also be easier to find and transfer superannuation between funds.

I was asked about some alternative policies, and I have to inform the Senate that, unfortunately, the opposition’s policy consists of opposing any measure that would genuinely contribute to increasing the retirement savings of Australians. You will recall, Mr President, that the opposition blustered about the introduction of the superannuation co-contribution. They opposed the cutting of the superannuation surcharge. Everyone in Australia knows that you cannot trust the Labor Party with your money. Even traditional Labor supporters agree. Ms Susan Ryan, a former Labor senator, called Labor’s super policy ‘shabby’ and Mr Garry Weaven, a former ACTU officer, said:

The government’s recent budget initiatives have proved that the Liberal Party is now the official party for superannuation.

Senators on this side of the chamber could not agree more. We now have a comprehensive package of reforms to boost retirement incomes, to encourage people to continue in employment and to give Australians at all income levels incentives to save for their own retirement.