George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I simply indicate that the opposition also supports the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Trustee Board and Other Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008. This bill is, with the exception of some minor technical matters, identical with the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Trustee Board and Other Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2007, which had been passed by the House of Representatives and introduced into the Senate prior to the last federal election.

The bill makes amendments to a range of legislation as a consequence of the introduction on 1 July 2005 of the Public Sector Superannuation accumulation plan; the establishment on 1 July 2006 of a single superannuation board named the Australian Reward Investment Alliance to administer the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme, the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme and the Public Sector Superannuation accumulation plan; the introduction of the new regime for managing legislative instruments provided for under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003; and the requirement to use ordinary time earnings to calculate employer superannuation guarantee obligations from 1 July 2008.

Although I am sure Senator Sherry would not concede it, the former government was the great reform government in Australian history when it came to superannuation policy. This legislation is not one of the headline reform bills, but it is essentially a technical and consequential piece of legislation which complemented and helped to bring to completion the suite of superannuation reforms pioneered by the former government. For that reason the opposition regard this as uncontroversial and it will have our support.