Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to join with my colleagues to talk about the Morrison government's ongoing commitment to ensuring all Australians get the most out of their super. Throughout this term the Morrison government has successfully passed a great deal of legislation which has had real and positive effects on the wallets of the hardworking Australians around the country. While Labor may never understand that putting money back into the pockets of Australians is a good thing, the Morrison government certainly does. This is why we capped the fees on low-balance accounts, helping around seven million Australians to save around $570 million in fees in the first year alone. We strengthened the powers of regulators, giving them the scope and capacity to deal with underperforming funds. We banned exit fees on all superannuation accounts and, for the first time ever, we provided the ATO with the power to proactively reunite low balance inactive accounts with active accounts, putting a stop to inactive accounts being eaten up by ongoing fees.

Those opposite don't have any interest in hearing about what we have done to increase the retirement income of Australians. The Labor Party has never had any interest in making the superannuation system more effective or efficient. They are only interested in supporting vested interests. They have attempted to stop each and every piece of superannuation legislation we've put forward. The Labor Party vote against the superannuation amnesty, which has uncovered nearly $900 million in unpaid super in the last month alone. They voted against getting rid of duplicate accounts. They voted against legislation to stop the erosion of low balances through fees and unnecessary insurance. Every time the Labor Party has voted against our superannuation reform, they have voted against the retirement of Australians.

The Morrison government will always fight for the best outcome for the Australian people. Labor may try and slow us down, but we will continue to reform the superannuation sector to reflect the needs of the Australian people. We have gained traction on these goals. The Morrison government had the Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Superannuation, Your Choice) Bill in August, giving more Australians employed under federal enterprise agreements freedom in their choice of fund, allowing them to shift away from any underperforming funds they are stuck with. We commissioned an independent review of the retirement income system, which observed that there is room for improvement in our superannuation sector. We also announced in this year's budget the government's Your Future, Your Super package, which will improve the superannuation system for members by ensuring your superannuation follows you when you change jobs. We are holding funds to account for underperformance by introducing an annual objective performance test and increasing transparency and accountability by ensuring trustees act in the best financial interests of members to maximise their retirement savings.

The Labor Party went to the election last year with an agenda that would have left those in retirement completely and utterly in the lurch. Now it seems like they are trying to leave those who haven't even retired yet in the lurch by ensuring that their superannuation accounts are left depleted by a bloated and inefficient superannuation sector. While Labor squabbles over how to ensure Australians are worse off in retirement, the Morrison government will always ensure that Australians are better off.

See this speech in context