Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House how the government is guaranteeing the economic security of all Australians who have saved for their retirement? Is the Treasurer aware of any risks to these savings posed by higher-taxation methods of managing the economy?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moore for his question and congratulate him on being able to ask a question properly!

The member for Moore is fighting hard for the more than 6,000 constituents in his electorate who will be affected by Labor's big $55 billion retiree tax. The constituents in his electorate, like the constituents in electorates across this chamber, could not believe it when the member for McMahon went on 7.30 earlier this week, arrogantly dismissing the concerns of more than one million Australians and saying that the Labor Party would not change their retiree tax one bit—not one bit. The member for McMahon said that despite all the deep concerns across this country the Labor Party will ignore those concerns and arrogantly dismissed them, and said that if people don't like Labor's retiree tax, 'Well, then don't vote Labor'. That's what he said.

The reality is that the people who are going to be hit hardest by Labor's retiree tax are those on lower incomes. Over 80 per cent have a taxable income under $37,000, and those hardest hit it will be women. Over half of them are women, two-thirds of whom are over the age of 60 and about half of whom are either single or widowed. That is the effect of Labor's policy

The Labor Party says that their policy doesn't apply to pensioners. Well, that's a lie! That's an absolute lie! Their pensioner guarantee is not worth the paper it's written on, because if you were a pensioner before 28 March last year and then you set up a self-managed super fund after that date you will be affected by Labor's policy. If you were in a self-managed superfund before 28 March last year and you became a pensioner after that day you will be affected by Labor's policy, and there are around 50,000 Australian pensioners who are going to be affected by Labor's policy.

There are many people who are hit by Labor's policy, including Alan from Ballina, in the electorate of Richmond. He says: 'I'm a 76-year-old self-funded retiree. My gross income has been slightly in excess of the income test for a full or partial age pension and therefore I have not qualified for pensioner benefits. But as a result of Labor's policy, if it's adopted, I will lose $2,580 a year.' That's real money to real people.

There is only one side of politics, and it's this side of politics, the Liberal and National parties in government under this Prime Minister, that will stand by retirees and not allow the Labor Party to hit them with a retiree tax.