John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Forty-five. It has been reduced now. Back to that dissenting report, and I quote:

Given the significant implications of this legislation, including adverse financial consequences for a material number of individual super fund members, Coalition members and senators recommend that:

The government withdraw this bill pending further consultation across the superannuation industry to address the serious flaws identified in this rushed inquiry and to allow for the preparation of a full Regulatory Impact Statement for the whole bill actually before the parliament, which is compliant with the government's own best practice regulation requirements.

But no. It has been a rushed inquiry, half a day of hearings, 30 minutes to witnesses and rush, rush, rush. This was a mess from the start when Minister Shorten tried to rush it through some time back. Luckily, the coalition under the guidance of my colleague Senator Cormann have some sensible alterations to this legislation, sensible amendments that will make a rushed program perhaps a little bit better.

In conclusion, superannuation is vital. As our population grows, with the baby boomers being the biggest sector of our population, if they cannot fund themselves in retirement it means more drain on the taxpayers—the working people of Australia. Those taxpayers already have enough drain on them because they have one hell of a debt to pay for now, with interest. The shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says it could be up to $12 billion a year in interest only—$12,000 million must be found before one public servant is paid, before one Australian soldier receives any sort of entitlement, before one age pensioner receives $1. That is the financial stress we have been put under under this government. That is why we need people in the future to be self-sufficient in their retirement. Let us hope that the confidence to the private sector, to the stock market does return. I do feel sorry for those who just gone into retirement claiming their super after the crash of the global financial crisis, brought about by ridiculous, stupid bank lending in the United States.