Gary Nairn (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party, Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

In summing up, I thank members opposite for their contributions on the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Trustee Board and Other Measures) Bill 2006. The amendment moved by the member for Hunter was obviously a nonsense amendment that was simply designed to allow a number of members to talk on superannuation but had nothing to do with the bill itself. The member for Rankin spoke on the bill for about 30 seconds and then proceeded to talk on other matters. I think it came as such a surprise to members of the opposition that the superannuation measures in the budget were so good that they felt they had to grab every opportunity to try and regain some ground on superannuation as a result—and, unfortunately, they have used this bill to do so.

The bill is straightforward. It brings together three schemes under one board. As I said in my second reading speech, it is a sensible bill and follows recommendations made in the Uhrig report. The consolidation of the governance arrangements for the three schemes under one board will provide significant opportunities for efficiencies in the management of the schemes. It will also offer an opportunity for the new board to adopt one investment mechanism for the ongoing management and investment of the three funds. This is particularly significant for the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme, which has been closed to new members since 1990 and has a decreasing contribution base. I commend the bill to the House.

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