Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer confirm whether he discussed the decision to raid the Future Fund with former Treasurer Wayne Swan before the decision was announced?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left and my right. There has to be more silence while questions are being asked and before—

Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Unbelievable! I'm explaining to the House how I want to see more courtesy shown, and then there are interjections like that. You're warned. It's not appropriate. So, for the remainder of question time, everyone, lift the standards. The Treasurer has the call.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I discussed it with the board of the Future Fund and with the chair of the Future Fund. Minister Gallagher and I went to the board of the Future Fund in August of this year. We briefed them on our thinking on the issues we were trying to progress. We had a very productive discussion with them. We followed that up with the chair of the Future Fund subsequently, and we worked together very closely with the Future Fund to make these announcements that we're making today.

More broadly, publicly, I've said on a number of occasions, and I've said to the investor round table, which includes the group that I'll be convening here in Canberra tomorrow, that we would be mad not to find ways to make our big national advantages, including our pools of capital in superannuation and the Future Fund, work in our national economic interest. I've made my priorities very clear publicly on a number of occasions. That's what today is partly about, that's what the investor round tables are about, and it's what the work that I've been doing with the Future Fund has been all about. So I want to thank the board members of the Future Fund. I want to thank the chair of the Future Fund for the way that we've been able to work together.

I understand the interest in one element of what has been announced today, I genuinely do. But one of the reasons why there are three elements, and not just one, to the changes we're making today is that we worked so closely with the Future Fund. Not drawing down before 2032 is an important part of what's being announced today, as well as all of the governance improvements associated with the statement of expectations. Those are the fruits of working in a consultative, collaborative way with the Future Fund, with the investor round table and with the community more broadly. In the past I've flagged the changes that we made today, and I announced them earlier.