Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Cormann. Can the minister confirm that yesterday's deal with the Palmer United Party reduces the retirement income of Australians and repeals the Schoolkids Bonus, the Income Support Bonus and the low-income superannuation contribution?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I see that those opposite are so keen to answer questions. They should work a bit harder to come over to this side if they want to answer questions. Yesterday the Senate worked with the government to put the national interest first. Yesterday the Senate worked with the government to help build a stronger economy to create more jobs. Yesterday the Senate worked with the government in order to ensure that working families across Australia have more money in their pockets now. What we did in the Senate yesterday—and this was not our preferred course of action—was that we agreed as a government to keep the Schoolkids Bonus in place on a means tested basis until after the next election. The question is, what will Labor do? Will you keep the Schoolkids Bonus going beyond that? And how will you pay for it?

Yesterday in the Senate the government also agreed that we would keep the low-income super contribution going until 30 June 2017—after the next election. What will the Labor Party do? Will you keep it going? And how will you pay for it? We will also keep the low-income support bonus going until after the election. What will Labor do? Will you keep it going beyond that? How will you pay for it? When Mr Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition, was asked that question this morning, he said, 'We are not going to tell you what our policies are.' Mr Shorten is just playing politics. He is putting politics ahead of the national interest, which is why he has made the Labor Party completely irrelevant. The national public policy consensus is now being built between the coalition, the Palmer United Party, the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Family First Party. And of course we thank Senator Madigan from the Democratic Labor Party for supporting the course of action the government initiated in the parliament yesterday. The Labor Party cannot handle the fact that they are the opposition and that we are the government. Well, they had better get used to it.

Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain why his letter to the Palmer United Party with the terms of the deal does not mention ongoing support for children of veterans.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The cunning Senator Dastyari; he has got us! Guess what? It is actually preserved until after the election because it is part of the low-income support bonus. The Labor Party will have the opportunity, in the lead-up to the next election, to tell the Australian people what they will do.

Will you keep the low-income support bonus going past 31 December 2016? How will you pay for it? Will you keep the low-income super contribution going past 30 June 1017? How will you pay for it? Will you keep the schoolkids bonus going and remove the means test past 31 December 2015? How will you pay for it? This budget that we have inherited from you is not a magic pudding. We inherited $123 billion in projected deficits, and debt headed for $667 billion. We are working to build a stronger economy and to repair your budget mess. It is time that— (Time expired)

Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a further supplementary question. I refer to the Prime Minister's pre-election promise last year, 'There will be no unexpected adverse changes to people's superannuation.' How is less superannuation for more than eight million Australians anything but an adverse change?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We stand by that commitment. We are delivering on that commitment in full. The changes that were endorsed by the Senate yesterday are beneficial changes for working families across Australia. They leave people with more money in their pockets. Guess what? There was to be a 0.5 per cent increase in compulsory super from 1 July 2015. Do you know how that was going to be paid for? It was not going to be paid by the government; it was going to be paid for through pay cuts for working families across Australia. The Labor Party should read Peter Martin's piece in the Fairfax papers today. They should read the comments that Bill Shorten made when he was the Minister for Financial Services. You are trying to create this illusion that somehow the big miners were going to pay for people's increases in superannuation savings. That was always false. That was always a deceit. This stops increases in compulsory super from out of people's pockets, and you are— (Time expired)