Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

It has never been a problem of getting access to ministers, or even the Prime Minister. The issue is trying to get a common-sense result. I think that is the key, so that is the real issue here. I am genuine on this issue. I know that both sides are coming at this from a different angle. Maybe one comes from the industry side, industry funds, and one comes from the corporates. What I am trying to do is to open it up to get the best possible deal for the workers of Australia by making sure there is a competitive process, an open process and a fair process that allows a default fund that, when it is selected by the Industrial Relations Commission, is public, open and transparent so that we can be sure we are getting the best fund for that award—rather than it being broken up on history only. That is all. That is what the issue is about: making sure that we get the best possible default superannuation fund for that particular award.

There has been a lack of movement. Yes, I have had letters; yes, I have had correspondence; yes, we have had that. The issue is not about the ongoing interactions but about getting the result that I think is important for Australia and all workers when it comes to a default fund. That is the issue. I am not coming at it from being favourable to industry funds or corporates or even hybrids. I am about getting the best default fund for that particular award. And the best way of doing that is through a competitive, open tendering process. Given that the opposition’s amendment adds the words ‘but ensuring that employers can nominate any complying superannuation fund as the default fund’, I have not got anything else, and that seems to be another way of getting around it.

Question put:

That the amendment (SenatorAbetz’s) be agreed to.