Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the incomprehensible stubbornness and ignorance of this government when it comes to superannuation. Everyone in this House and around Australia can see the ideology of this government is essentially to protect the rich and damn the poor. There can be no stronger evidence of this than the Abbott government's persistent pursuit of tax concessions for the wealthy and their vicious cuts to pensions for battlers.

As the system currently stands, we are seeing an increasing disparity, and that is unsustainable. The lucky few with potentially millions in their superannuation accounts pay nothing on their earnings once they have hit 60 years of age. The government has collected no net revenue from superannuation in recent years, yet it feels cutting the pension to struggling seniors is the best way to achieve a surplus. Even audits and reports commissioned by this government highlight the acute inequality in our superannuation system due to the disproportionate tax concessions offered to the wealthy. The Financial System Inquiry says:

… the majority of tax concessions accrue to the top 20 per cent of income earners … These tax concessions are unlikely to reduce future Age Pension expenditure significantly.

This will give high-income individuals larger concession than required to achieve the objectives of the system. The government's own Murray inquiry states that badly targeted superannuation concessions mean higher taxes on ordinary mums and dads. Even the Commission of Audit, that woeful report that wants to punish Australia with $100,000 degrees and GP taxes says that super concessions are unfair.

Is it because the members opposite want to protect their own hefty nest eggs? It is okay for them to reap the benefits of Labor, and let us not forget that superannuation is a proud Labor program. Let us not let the hardworking families of Australia be punished by it, because the inequity is astounding. Remember, the member for Warringah, the now Prime Minister, standing in this place saying that compulsory superannuation is a con. To give you an insight into the wonderful thinking of the Prime Minister, I quote from Hansard on 25 September 1995 when he said:

Any money you put in is your money and you are certain to get back less than you put in.

That is just astounding, and I think it shows how badly the government are going. I want to keep calling you the opposition because that is where you are going to go back to very shortly. I shows how bad they are that they get a guy who says that superannuation is going to cost you money to have and make him their leader. Meanwhile, I am sure the would-be leader sitting over there just shakes his head quite often, thinking, 'Where did it all go wrong?' It sounds like one of those songs from The Muppet Movie.

Our plans for the superannuation system make it more sustainable by targeting the superannuation tax concessions to those who need them most. We will lower the threshold of the 15 per cent high-income superannuation charge from $300,000 to $250,000 to better align the tax concession. We will ensure that earnings of more than $75,000 during the retirement phase are taxed at a concessional rate of 15 per cent instead of being tax free. Labor plans to make the superannuation system better for those who need the support the most, and we have seen that today.

We have seen the small business minister stand up here like the little Energizer bunny, jumping around saying, 'The government are putting income support to people who genuinely need it.' So what did they do? They took away tax for those who have multimillions of dollars in their superannuation and put a tax back on people who are earning less than $37,500 a year. That is their way and that is their plan. It is the ideological way they do things. They want to tax the poor and help the rich. It is appalling. What it means is that people who can least afford it are the ones who are being hit the hardest. We see members opposite smiling over there. They think it is going great guns. Auntie Jean is happy, but do not worry about the parliamentary cleaners. Do not worry about the Defence Force personnel. They promised to increase their wages and still have not done it.

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