Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Deregulation, Competition Policy and Sustainable Cities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Rudd Labor government conceded in question time yesterday that the three per cent increase in superannuation guarantee contributions will not be paid for by the mining super tax but will be paid for by employers. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his ministers have repeatedly tried to mislead people into believing that the proposed mining super tax would pay for the increase in employer superannuation contributions. The simple fact is that increased employer funded superannuation contributions are paid for by employers. This is in stark contrast to what the Prime Minister has been trying to convince the Australian public of. In an interview on the ABC in Perth on 5 May he said that the super profits tax will, amongst other things:

… boost the superannuation earnings of working Australians by increasing the superannuation guarantee from nine to 12 per cent …

In a doorstop on 4 May in Perth, the Prime Minister said that our super profits tax in the mining industry is about three things. He went on to say that the first thing is raising the superannuation guarantee from nine per cent to 12 per cent. He went on and on making this false and misleading claim, trying to link this super tax on the mining industry to somehow funding employer contributions for superannuation.

The small business community are awake to this. Employers well know the point that the opposition has been making—that is, the Rudd Labor government is making false and misleading claims about the mining super tax paying for increased employer superannuation contributions. Just look at some of the quotes. Jaye Radisich from the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia said that there is little doubt that the increase in the superannuation guarantee of three per cent will be passed on to consumers, given that it represents a direct cost for business. Russell Zimmerman of the Australian Retailers Association said:

… retailers are being hit with increases to employment related expenses including a three percent rise in superannuation payments.

Peter Anderson, the Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also made the point. He said:

Some media reporting this morning claims that ‘the new Resource Super Profits Tax will fund the Federal Government’s promise to raise the superannuation levy from 9% to 12%.’

Regrettably, this is not the case.

And he goes on to outline why it is. What an interesting revelation it was yesterday when the Minister for Finance and Deregulation corrected the record by pointing out that the super tax is in no way funding an increase in employer contributions. He went through some budget babble and talked about forgone tax and said that that represented a cost. For the record: the forgone tax he is trying to impute has something to do with the super tax on the mining industry being forgone because there has been some forgoing of pay, wages and salaries, on which income tax would be paid, and that benefit is in turn being received as a superannuation contribution at a lower tax rate.

There is no such link. There is no guarantee of that. There is no mechanism to offset future wage claims against this increase in employer contributions. It is way past time for the Rudd government to be honest. It is misleading the Australian people about this supposed link. It needs to produce evidence that there is a direct connection—(Time expired)

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for constituency statements has concluded.