Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Cormann, I listened to you in silence. I do not want to speak for 20 minutes, I just want to put on the record the facts in respect to where these penalty provisions came from. In terms of the nine per cent super guarantee being included as part of contributions, if there are contributions over and above the nine per cent, that was very, very clearly stated at the time of the introduction of the simpler super package as put forward by the former Liberal government. I certainly am aware that there have been representations, concerns and complaints raised about this issue. I am, frankly, a little bit surprised that some in the financial planning community and other areas of superannuation who are now raising this issue, did not raise it at the time. Some of them may have, I have to say, but I did not hear from them when I was considering this legislation and penalty regime from opposition. I did not hear from them about it then.