Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. The Treasurer has introduced a law which allows government to take control of Australian superannuation investments and cancel those investments that it does not like. Resources, energy, infrastructure and agricultural investments are at risk. When will the government admit that it has got this wrong and abandon its plan to treat workers' superannuation moneys as if they were Liberal Party funds?

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

When will those opposite understand that superannuation belongs to the people who put it there! It belongs to the people who put it there. It doesn't belong to the fund managers. It doesn't belong to the unions. And it doesn't belong to the honourable member.

The reality is: this legislation before the parliament will help put an extra $17 billion in the pockets of people who have superannuation. That's because it's going to provide more choice. That's because it's going to provide more competition. That's because it's going to allow Australians to go online and see the performance of their super fund, both in terms of fees charged and the performance of the fund. We're getting rid of duplicate, unnecessary, unwanted accounts, as was recommended by the Productivity Commission. It might surprise those opposite to know that Australians spend more than $30 billion a year—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will resume his seat.

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

Oh!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say to the Treasurer: people are entitled to take points of order. I mean, it is actually a right under the standing orders. They're entitled to take a point of order. The member for Whitlam on a point of order.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance, Speaker: I asked the Treasurer about the power he wants to give himself to cancel workers' superannuation investments.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Whitlam will resume his seat.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He hasn't mentioned it yet!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And if the member for Whitlam's complaining about the content of the Treasurer's answer, he might look to the last part of his question that opened it up to wide political debate. So, if you can't help yourself on that front, I sort of can't help you as much in reining in the Treasurer. The Treasurer has the call.

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

The honourable member needs to understand that this legislation helps protect the interests of Australians with superannuation, by giving them more choice, by giving them more competition—

Mr Tim Wilson interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will pause. The member for Goldstein will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Goldstein then left the chamber.

Opposition members interjecting—

And members on my left might join him. You can have an alternative debate outside the chamber.

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

It's no coincidence that the member for Whitlam sought an interjection when I was explaining to the House that Australians spend more than $30 billion on super fees—more than their household electricity and gas bills—and we are seeking to reduce those fees for Australians.

This bill will remove the need for duplicate accounts. It will establish a best-financial-interests duty. It will give more choice, so Australians can get to compare the performance of their funds, in terms of fees charged as well as the return on those funds. It builds on other important superannuation reforms that we have passed through this parliament, like allowing under-25s to opt in to insurance in their super, like banning exit fees, like reducing the fees on low-balance accounts and consolidating inactive accounts. These are important reforms that are designed to support Australians with super.

While those opposite will always do the bidding of the unions and always do the bidding of the industry funds, we on this side of the House are enabling Australians to choose and to get a better deal from their fund. I remind the House that it was this side of politics that supported allowing Australians to access their own money during the COVID crisis—up to $20,000—which was another important initiative which enabled Australians to access their own money, because, at the end of the day, when people put money into superannuation, it remains their money, not the money of their unions, not the money of the industry funds and not the money of the fund managers.