Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Greens amendments (8) to (10) on sheet 6111:

(8)    Heading to Chapter 3, page 61 (line 1), at the end of the heading, add “and superannuation”.

(9)    Clause 62, page 61 (at the end of line 10), after “(see Part 3-3).”, insert “Instalments are treated as salary or wages for superannuation purposes (see Part 3-6).”.

(10)  Page 101 (after line 8), at the end of Chapter 3, add:

Part 3-6—Superannuation

115A  Entitlement to superannuation

                 Parental leave pay instalments are to be treated as income, in the nature of salary or wages, and as part of ordinary time earnings for the purposes of superannuation law.

115B  Payments in lieu of superannuation

        (1)    Section 115A does not operate so as to impose taxation.

        (2)    If, under section 115A, a superannuation contribution may not be made to a person in relation to an instalment because of the operation of subsection (1), the Secretary may make a payment to the person in lieu of that superannuation contribution.

115C  Regulations—Superannuation

        (1)    Regulations made for the purposes of this Part may provide for the following matters:

             (a)    the calculation of amounts of superannuation;

             (b)    the making of superannuation contributions;

             (c)    the calculation of amounts to be paid in lieu of superannuation;

             (d)    the payment of amounts in lieu of superannuation.

        (2)    Without limiting subsection (1), regulations made for the purpose of that subsection may:

             (a)    modify provisions of this Act or of the superannuation law; or

             (b)    provide for the application (with or without modifications) of provisions of this Act or of the superannuation law, to matters to which they would otherwise not apply.

115D  Interpretation

                 In this Part:

superannuation law means:

             (a)    the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 and instruments made under that Act; and

             (b)    the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and instruments made under that Act; and

             (c)    the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, and instruments made under that Act, to the extent that they deal with superannuation.

These amendments go to the failure of this bill to allow for a core workplace entitlement that includes superannuation under the Paid Parental Leave scheme. We know that one of the biggest issues in relation to the gap in retirement savings between men and women is that women need to take time off from the workforce when they have their babies. From day one they are behind the eight ball when it comes to saving for their retirement. We know this and the government have specifically spoken about this only recently—that they want to do more to ensure that the retirement pay gap between men and women is closed. This would be a perfect place to do it—paying for superannuation as part of what is meant to be a workplace entitlement under this scheme. Paid parent leave should include superannuation. It is a no-brainer.

If this is meant to be a workplace entitlement like other workplace entitlements then let us ensure that women are not disadvantaged or discriminated against simply because they have ovaries and let us ensure that the scheme includes superannuation. That is one of the key aspects of any paid parental leave scheme put forward by this parliament, particularly by a Labor government who understands the importance of superannuation. Let us make sure it is important to everybody, including mums. That is what these amendments are about: ensuring that superannuation is included.

It may not seem like a lot of money—the superannuation for an 18-week period over the minimum wage works out to be $800 per person. We know that women have their babies at a particular period of their lives. The compound effect of that saving of course will pay dividends into the future. It is not an awful lot of money for the government to include, but will be quite significant in helping to bridge the retirement savings gap between men and women, and of course a very symbolic representation of how fair dinkum the government are about addressing this inequity in women’s superannuation.