Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I continue to be relevant to the second reading amendment moved by those opposite and I encourage them to stop playing their puerile undergraduate political games of moving these second reading amendments so that they can post on some puerile undergraduate misinformation website that those on this side of the House don't support pensioners. And that's the problem. That's the problem right here. That's the problem with the donations. That's the problem with their speeches. That's the problem with their tactics. They don't want to talk about what the real issues are, because they're only about misinformation, hiding things and not telling the Australian people what's really going on.

We've had speeches from those opposite—literally all of them incorrect. We've had those opposite trying to claim that this government has been trying to institute the cashless debit card for pensioners. That is untrue. They continue to repeat it online. Why do they continue to do that? Because they're part of an institutional political movement that can only win votes by misinforming the Australian people. If they want to have a genuine debate about how to make the lives of pensioners better, everyone on this side is up for it. But they want to move second reading amendments.

There are those opposite making the absurd claim that we're responsible for trying to increase the age limit for the pension. Everyone in Australia knows that Wayne Swan began that process under the Rudd-Gillard government. Somehow those opposite are trying to fit up this side of the House with it. Once again, they'll have all their little front groups out there making that claim. They might make a political point; they might get the money from the coal investors who bought their mine from Eddie Obeid, and, nine times out of 10, they might actually be able to hide that from the Australian people. But the Australian people are no fools. They know when they're not being told the truth. They know that for decades this government has been the one side of this House that has supported and enhanced the lives of ordinary Australians on the pension.

Australians know that the pension wasn't started by the Whitlam government, as those opposite assert. Australians know that it was started by the Menzies government, when it was about caring and being compassionate towards those seeking to retire. Australians know that this side of the House has consistently and constantly fought for measures that are about making those people who have spent their lives trying to make their retirement more comfortable more possible. For example, section 56(2) the Superannuation Industry (Supervision Act) 1993, which was designed to fine trustees because they had done something wrong and stop them from paying that fine out of members' funds. Let me make that clear: stealing money from ordinary Australians' retirement savings.

Last Thursday, we found out that almost a quarter of a billion dollars has been taken out of the retirement accounts of ordinary Australians by industry super funds. And why? Because, as APRA confirmed for us, Australia's largest super fund, Australian Super, was apparently one administrative error away from being insolvent. Is there no-one on that side of the House interested in the fact that $233 billion worth of retirement savings of ordinary Australians is run by a company with $12 in share capital? APRA doesn't seem interested, because of legislative changes moved by those on that side. Don't come into this chamber and try to hoodwink Australians into believing that you care about the climate when you're taking money from coalminers, that you care about honesty and integrity when you didn't declare that, and that that coal investor bought his coalmine from Eddie Obeid. Don't come into this chamber and claim that you care about Australian pensioners but that you don't actually care about the fact that the largest superannuation fund in Australia is run by a company with $12 in share capital while it manages $233 billion in retirement savings for ordinary Australians. And the reason you don't care is that they donate to your political party. Don't come into this chamber and make claims that you care about pensioners or that the cashless—

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