Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I tell you what pensioners do know. Pensioners know that Australia can never afford to go back to what we saw under the previous Labor government. They know in their heart of hearts that we cannot go back to the waste and mismanagement of six years of Labor. After 2007, there was money in the bank, there were surpluses in front and what did they do? They trashed it. They left this incoming government with $123 billion of combined deficits peaking at $667 billion of debt if we did nothing. That is the story and Australian pensioners, who have saved for their retirement, very well know that.

Labor's record in government was that they took $9 billion out of superannuation. Remember what they said? Let's quote Kevin Rudd: 'Not one jot, not one tittle.' The member for McMahon said we will not touch it for five years. And then we had the Leader of the Opposition today say $2 million for those earning $100,000. But it was wrong. The policy is actually for those with assets of $1.5 million or who earn $75,000 a year. What Australians know is when it comes to superannuation, you cannot trust Labor. These people are the budget smugglers. The member for McMahon talked about the $37,000 threshold. Guess where that was coming from? That was the mining tax. Do you remember that one? How much did it raise? That was going to save us, if you remember.

I am a little bit confused after listening to the Leader of the Opposition's contribution this morning because Labor claim this ground on superannuation. It was them who invented it. But how is it that the taxpayers of Australia are willing to save for their retirement, concessions are paid on the way in and then those opposite say they should not spend it in their retirement. I just do not get it. You have got to rely entirely on your earnings and you cannot touch your capital. When I went to school, you could not take it with you. You cannot take it with you, the last time I looked.

Bill may well be into estate planning—I am not sure. But this is not about passing it on to the next generation. The concessions that you get when you are contributing to superannuation are designed to be spent in your retirement. That is how the whole system works. But government knows best on the other side. This is the Labor Party. They know much better how to spend other people's money. Well, we do not agree. We think that is a false premise. We believe that superannuation is not a piggybank for governments when they get into trouble—like when the previous government took $9 billion out of the savings of Australians.

Labor will tax your superannuation: make no mistake. And the record speaks for itself. Pensions are a safety net. I know it is difficult. Power prices are going up and water bills are going up. It is particularly difficult for those people in my electorate who are on the singles or couples pension. They are going to be better off, not only from the things we have delivered over the last 18 months. Singles are $56 better off a fortnight and couples are $78 better off a fortnight. The pension has already gone up. And guess what? We got rid of the carbon tax. That is worth $550 a year, on average, to every household in Australia. Under these reforms, the lowest earning pensioners, those with the least amounts of assets, will receive an extra $30 a fortnight. How on earth can I stand here and listen to the Labor Party be so hypocritical about their position on this?

We had a budget reply speech a couple of weeks ago. There is a $58.6 billion black hole. I like to refer to it as $220 a minute of unfunded commitments that were made by the Leader of the Opposition. Labor seems transfixed on part pensioners. They are a very small component of pensioners. If they draw down, the most those part pensioners will need to draw down on that capital is 1.9 per cent, to maintain that level of 1.9 per cent. A modest number of pensioners will be affected by that. You cannot trust Labor when it comes to your super.

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