Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

This government has an unhappy history on the subject of superannuation. In late 2007, the then opposition promised to change superannuation ‘not one jot, not one tittle’. Oh, how we remember the prophetic words of Kevin Rudd in 2007 when, as Leader of the Opposition, he said he was not going to touch superannuation. As is typical of Labor, it has broken that promise not once, but on numerous occasions. For example, Labor has halved the concessional contribution caps, penalising thousands of Australians who inadvertently exceeded them and undermining Australians’ incentives to save for retirement. Having broken not just that promise, the Labor Party then cut back the government co-contribution payments for the poorest people. If my memory serves me correctly that was in the 2008 budget, when they did not have to do it. Of course, they were projecting a surplus in the 2008 budget. How ambitious that was, that Labor should deliver a surplus budget! Of course, they never have and I doubt they ever will. But that did not stop the Labor Party, which cut back on the co-contribution payments for those on the lowest incomes. As if that is not enough—if that does not break the promise of ‘not one jot, not one tittle’—Labor mandated that industry funds be the default superannuation funds for the bulk of the modern awards, thereby closing down competition.

I see in the chamber the member for Dobell, who is not only a previous union official—so he would love the industry super funds—but who was also the beneficiary of union support during the recent election campaign and during the 2007 campaign. In fact, all the Labor members were. How do they pay back their union mates? They go and make the industry funds default funds under the modern award system.

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