Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I was very interested in Senator Fielding’s contribution that somehow there was a link between interest in superannuation and hair loss. So I do inquire as to why Minister Garrett is not the minister for superannuation, but it also explains Senator Xenophon’s lack of interest in my amendment! Can I quickly sum up: I accept where the numbers in the chamber lie, so the amendment will not get up, unfortunately. We will not be seeking to divide on this but we do want to put a few stakes in the ground and also indicate our position.

I also indicate that if there were a likelihood of this amendment being successful I would have been seeking to move some subsequent amendments that came to my attention, but that will not be necessary and I will not bore the Senate with the detail of that. I will respond to the minister. Yes, big business is not necessarily supportive of our amendment. On this side of the chamber we always see ourselves, firstly, as the champions of small business. The sorts of agreements that big business and big unions make in order to submit a particular fund to the Industrial Relations Commission have none of the transparency that Senator Sherry is arguing for in relation to the situation where an employer chooses the default fund.

We know that in the old industrial relations club they tend to get together and make deals for themselves. They will nominate who from the trade union movement and who from big industry will sit on the boards of these superannuation companies. They will stitch it up between themselves and it will all become a very cosy arrangement. So, just because big business is not on our side does not move us from our position in any way, shape or form.

We are concerned that the system creates mandated monopolies or oligopolies and does not promote active competition, which means higher fees and comparatively reduced services. I also indicate that nearly all employers would have employees who would be covered by more than one award. As a result, a multiplicity of payments will be required in this system, in any event. For a lot of small businesses if there is agreement with the employee, simply having the one fund would make some sense. The minister, I understand, has said that he has had an aspirational goal of average fees being of one per cent.