Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We welcome the royal commission into the banks. It's long overdue. The Prime Minister has said he has done this as a necessary but regrettable action, but clearly he did not want to do it. He only did it because the banks said he could and gave him permission. Now he's said it will take too long, but if he had set it up two years ago, when Labor called for it, we would already be righting wrongs. We would already be redressing the rip-offs.

We know that this Prime Minister wants to use the royal commission as a vehicle to pursue his ideological hatred of the industry super funds. Shame on you. Australia's compulsory super is the envy of our world. It is one of the great economic achievements and reforms of the Keating Labor government. Through the Prices and Incomes Accord and through the work of Bill Kelty and Simon Crean, workers were persuaded to give up immediate pay rises to provide for their own retirement. The money that is paid to super funds is deferred wages. This is the workers' money. It belongs to them.

The success of the industry scheme is clear. It has outperformed the bank-run super for 25 years. This is why it is so offensive of those opposite to pursue this change in the royal commission into the banks. (Time expired)