Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's always interesting to rise in this place and speak about superannuation. My good colleague the member for Burt is here, and also the member for Kingsford Smith. I know they have more than a passing interest in the subject. I will reflect first and foremost on what this government has done for superannuation over the past few years. I spent more than a little bit of time in the superannuation industry prior to my time in this place, so I well understand not only the importance of superannuation to members of our superannuation funds but also the importance of the capital it provides for our economy more generally. The intersection of both of those is an important consideration in anything we do.

I have heard a number of comments from those opposite about the early release scheme. I think around 20 per cent of the funds people have taken out of their super has been used to cover debt repayments. I think that is critically important during this period. Whilst I understand that there are longer-term consequences for those decisions, the immediate consequence in a lot of these examples is that people keep a roof over their heads. I think that is a far more important current consequence of being able to access super—keeping a roof over their heads—and we can deal with and work through the longer-term issues that result.

Of equal importance is the work this government has done in the six years we've been in office to tidy up and improve the operation, transparency and efficiency of our superannuation funds. We recognise that a successful, well-run, transparent superannuation fund is good for this country on many, many levels—critically, no more so than in underpinning people's wealth creation and their planning for retirement. After owning their own home, superannuation for most people is their next biggest asset. We focus on ensuring that Australians can reap the full benefits of that superannuation system by ensuring that members of our super funds and everyday Australians are the priority and at the forefront of the decision-making process with respect to superannuation. That's why, since we've come to government, we've passed legislation to improve the efficiency through strengthening the powers of the regulator to deal with underperforming funds. We've capped fees on low-balance accounts, which has helped around seven million Australians save some $570 million in fees in the first year alone. Imagine what that's going to add up to over 20 or 30 years.

We've banned exit fees on all superannuation accounts, and for the first time ever the ATO has had the power to proactively unite low-balance and inactive accounts with active accounts. This has seen the ATO proactively reunite almost 2.5 million accounts with almost $3.2 billion in savings—again, saving in fees and costs for running those super funds. I well remember the day a new client who had eight different superannuation funds came into my office, and it took some time and work to combine all of those into a single fund.

We're focusing on delivering a better superannuation system for everyday Australians. When I talk to people locally in my community about superannuation, business and a range of issues, they want to know that their funds are well invested and well managed and that there's going to be something there for them in their retirement. Whether it's the employees at Beenleigh Glass, those at Luv a Coffee or those on the production lines of places like Thiess or ATP Science at Loganholme, these people every week have 9½ per cent of their wages effectively forgone and put into superannuation because that was, as those opposite have pointed out in their contributions, part of the trade-off for setting up super—not only that initial three per cent but ongoing future increases as well.

We want to see people enjoy a dignified and comfortable retirement, but that covers a range of issues. You don't just look at superannuation in and of itself. You have to look at the ability of people to have their debt repaid by the time they get to retirement. You have a look at the decisions people want to make about the style of retirement they want to have. Do they want the lifestyle they've led in the years prior to retirement, or are they prepared to modify their lifestyle to have a more relaxed retirement? All of those decisions are critically important for people as they come to that important decision in their life.

But this week we've also got on with the job of delivering for the Australian people. I'm very pleased to note that today the Senate passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Superannuation, Your Choice) Bill 2019. This bill will provide a choice of fund for more Australians employed under federal enterprise agreements and workplace agreements. I made a comment about this yesterday in the Federation Chamber, and I challenged the shadow minister to support this bill in the Senate if they truly believe in choice and opportunity for Australians to choose where their money goes. Well, I wasn't disappointed, because the shadow minister and his colleagues on that side of the chamber didn't take up my offer. They voted against the choice bill in the Senate today. They can talk about the importance of superannuation, the importance of choice and all of those things. They can say all the right things but, at the end of the day, you don't look at what they say; you actually look at what they do. And they voted today to stop the Australian people from having a choice of where their superannuation money is placed if they have an enterprise agreement—again, for one simple reason: to protect the interests of their mates in the industry super funds. I've spoken about this plenty of times in this place. I was pleased when that legislation first passed through this House. But it's not the first time that those opposite have voted against that legislation. It was considered in previous parliaments, and the opposition refused to support it then, and it's refused to support it now.

Denying members choice is fundamentally unfair, anticompetitive and inefficient. It's one of the reasons that we finish up in a situation where people have multiple superannuation accounts. Those opposite want to perpetuate the impediment to Australian people's ability to develop a sustainable balance in their superannuation funds to give them a sound retirement—shame on them. Whatever they have to say in this place on superannuation are just hollow words and noise, because, when push comes to shove, they don't turn up and support superannuation.

In relation to this bill, as workplaces evolve and become more flexible or workers demand more freedom from their working arrangements, it's imperative that our superannuation system is fit for purpose and has the ability to adapt to modern requirements. This bill amends the Income Tax Assessment Act to extend, from 1 July this year, access to superannuation and the bring-forward arrangements to people aged 65 and 66, which will better reflect the changing nature of work. It will also allow people to make up to three years worth of non-concessional contributions to their super in a single year. This is important as people seek to downsize or change their arrangements prior to retirement. It helps older Australians boost their retirement savings within the super environment and gives them greater flexibility to make these contributions to super as they enter retirement. This bill also aligns the cut-off age for the bring-forward arrangements to 67, which is the same age for eligibility for the age pension. This is a commonsense measure which ensures the simplification of a number of age based measures in the legislation.

I acknowledge that, whilst this bill is relatively straightforward, as I've said previously, it's yet further evidence that this government is committed to the superannuation system and to getting the best outcomes possible for the millions of members of super funds. As I outlined earlier, we've made a number of changes to superannuation since we were elected in 2013. We'll continue to refine the system to ensure the best possible outcome for members. We make no apologies for seeking to focus this week on protecting the interests of members through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Superannuation, Your Choice) Bill. I'm pleased for members of Australian super funds that we got that bill through the Senate today. I commend this bill, in its original form, to the House.

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