Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's really topical to talk about this important resolution on superannuation because all in this chamber take retirement security very seriously. In fact, it was one of the key issues that I focused on in the lead-up to the last election—people may recall that. This side of the chamber wanted to make sure that as many Australians could be independent in their retirement as possible. The other side of the chamber put forward a great big new tax on Australian retirees. A million Australians would have lost a third of their income overnight had there been a change in government. At the time they mocked and ridiculed us providing a platform for those Australians to stand up and give a voice and a face and human experience behind their sinister agenda. It was only after the election it became completely apparent to them just how many low-income Australians would've been pushed below the poverty line had they been elected to government. They would've discarded the interests of millions of Australians and their economic welfare at a vulnerable stage of life. That's why they sit on the opposition benches.

When it comes down to it, we all think superannuation has a place. Despite the dishonesty of some members, we believe that super has a place, that retirement saving has a place. Remember, I supported that very strongly at last election when they did not. We also should have an honest conversation about what delivers retirement security. To the opposition, retirement security is about as much money being given to their mates as possible. It defers and reprioritises life choices—for young Australians in particular—from the most important vehicle that you can provide for security in retirement, and that's to buy your own home. It is patently absurd that we as a society force a 20-year-old to save for retirement 50 years in the future when they cannot afford that 10 per cent of their wages to save for a deposit to buy a house today. The reality is that owning your own home is by far the most important vehicle for retirement security. If you cannot secure your own home, you are exposed to ever-increasing rental prices at a stage when you can't earn more income. It's been clearly shown by research institutions that homes are the most important thing. Home ownership is the most important thing to retirement security, not having a large super balance. If we don't have a large superannuation balance, we can at least support it through the pension. And we do.

We know why those on the other side of this chamber so unendingly prosecute the case to increase super contributions. As the member for McKellar just outlined with the wisdom of 50 years experience, they do it because the money goes to the funds that their mates control. They don't care about the retirement security of Australians. They care about themselves and the money that is laundered through those funds directly through to the Australian Labor Party. When it comes down to it, you sit here and you make the case about why you support that system. It's because it benefits you at the expense of Australians and their wages. This isn't just my opinion. It's the opinion of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, who recently said in front of the House Economics Committee that if you increase the cost of the superannuation guarantee it will cost the wages of Australians. It will also cost the jobs growth of Australians. At this critical time, now you want to trade off your own interests against the Australian people and harm the job creation and job opportunities that they need right now. As the member for McKellar outlined, the Grattan Institute, the Treasury, the Reserve Bank of Australia and ACOSS all understand this. There's only one group that doesn't seem to, and it is those people who sit on the other side of this Chamber and the people who manage the funds who will get the benefit. It is the greatest vested interest argument I have ever seen at the expense of the Australian people—at the expense of their home ownership, at the expense of their retirement secure, at the expense of their jobs and opportunity today.

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