Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I did not interrupt the member for Murray once while she was speaking; I would appreciate the same respect. In terms of superannuation, the report made it clear that the over-the-lifetime income of working women was one of the major issues contributing to the pay equity gap in Australia. That is because women quite regularly have a form of broken employment that means that they do not actually have the capacity to accumulate superannuation at the same rate as men. Also, because, sadly, we have one of the most gender segregated workforces in the world, they are quite often in the lower income types of jobs, which are often casual and part time. So, over a lifetime of working they often end up with around only 60 per cent of the superannuation that males accumulate. Furthermore, women do tend to live longer than men—unfortunately, some of my colleagues may think. If you look at single-income homes of people in the retirement age bracket you will often see women living by themselves. Their having to sustain themselves on significantly less super is a real issue.

The government’s commitment to the low-income super contribution rebates, which provide an opportunity for those earning up to $37,000 a year to take benefits of up to an additional $500, as announced in the budget, on top of the existing co-contribution payment scheme, is important to encourage people on low incomes and incomes based on casual and part-time employment to put away more for their super. I also think it is really important that we maintain and deliver on the commitment to raise the superannuation guarantee from nine to 12 per cent. It is well overdue, and it will make a huge difference for those on low incomes in particular at the point at which they retire. In fact, by the time she retires, a woman now aged 30 who has broken employment will have $78,000 extra. (Time expired)

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