Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Acting Deputy President. They really are a rabble over there. They are in complete chaos, they are dysfunctional and they are divided. The only thing that holds them together over there is when there is a vested interest being pushed on them by the union movement. That is the only time there is unity of purpose over there—when they get to pursue the vested interests of the union movement instead of pursuing the public interest. Other than that, they are just a divided rabble completely incapable of governing Australia, completely incapable of providing good governance.

So here we go again—another two pieces of legislation proposing 14-odd changes to our tax laws and superannuation laws. Sorry, there are just 13 changes now because in relation to schedule 4 of the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 1) Bill 2013—in which the government tried to impose additional restrictions and more red tape on self-managed super funds in terms of related party transactions, making it harder for people who are doing the right thing by saving to achieve a self-funded retirement—the Labor Party was forced to back down because, again, they got it so wrong.

Whenever they see self-managed super, this Labor government, in their ideological pursuit of people who are inspired to look after their own needs in retirement, always looks at ways to make things harder for people. On this occasion, in the face of opposition from crossbench members of parliament in the House of Representatives, the government was forced into an embarrassing backdown, which of course was good news for people across Australia who are saving to achieve a self-funded retirement. The Labor Party, left to their own devices, would have made it much harder for people to manage their own affairs with a view to looking after their own needs in retirement so they do not need to be a burden on the public purse. This government has a track record of dysfunction, of division, of incompetence, of adding massive additional red tape, of adding massive additional new and increased taxes and of casting around perpetually for more cash to plug yet another budget black hole—of which, under Treasurer Wayne Swan, there are many. These bills are no different from what the Labor Party usually does.

Let me give people a flavour of the many measures that the government wants to ram through the parliament without proper scrutiny here tonight, without proper debate, without proper opportunity for the Senate to carefully and responsibly consider all of the implications. Some of the measures are more straightforward than others, but a number of the measures are quite bad and irresponsible. Here is the long list. This bill seeks to enshrine documentaries and list game shows as ineligible for film tax offsets. It seeks to exempt from tax certain payments relating to certain recent natural disasters. It seeks to allow GST remitters in net refund positions an election for simpler compliance. It seeks to add a further six entities to the list of deductible gift recipients. It seeks to require superannuation trustees to merge the multiple accounts of their members. It seeks to further reduce the Howard government's super co-contribution scheme—which is of course an example yet again of the utter hypocrisy of this Labor government. They know that you, Madam Acting Deputy President, along with all of the senators on the coalition side of the Senate, are very interested in good policy that encourages people to save more money through superannuation, to make additional contributions to their super so that they have a chance to get themselves into a position where they can look after their own needs in retirement.

In order for people to have confidence that they can plan their future retirement safely, they need certainty and stability in superannuation policy settings. In the lead-up to the 2007 election this government, in trying to pitch to that particular aspiration across Australia, made a very solemn promise. In fact it was the then Labor leader Mr Kevin Rudd who made the promise that, in government, should they be successful at the 2007 election, there would be no change to superannuation laws—not one jot, not one tiddle. But of course since that time there has been a whole series of changes to superannuation, not just in terms of additional red tape and additional compliance costs but also in terms of additional taxes targeting low- and middle-income earners. The Labor Party has imposed almost $9 billion in additional taxes on low- and middle-income earners' superannuation—money that comes straight out of people's savings accounts, money that leaves their retirement savings lower than they otherwise would have been, with all of the implications in terms of compound interest.

One of the many examples of bad decisions the government has made is how, progressively from budget to budget, the government has slashed the super co-contribution benefit for low-income earners from $1,500 for every $1,000 saved under the Howard government to $1,000 for every $1,000 saved. In this bill, they are now proposing to go all the way down to $500 for every $1,000 saved. This is a measure that particularly targets low-income earners—because the superannuation co-contribution benefit is an incentive for low-income earners to put more money into their superannuation, with the government matching the savings made, up to a certain amount, on a year-to-year basis. But this government promised not to make any changes. There would be no change at all, they said. But here we are, five or six years later, and they have imposed an additional $3.3 billion worth of costs. Just in relation to this one measure they have cut the super co-contribution benefits for low-income earners by more than $3.3 billion so far.

When this Labor Party goes out into the community in the lead-up to the next election and makes any promise whatsoever in relation to superannuation, people across Australia will know that they cannot trust them. People across Australia know very well that they cannot trust Labor's latest solemn promise that they will not scrap the low-income super tax offset, which was linked to Labor's mining tax. Of course Labor would scrap the low-income super tax offset if they were re-elected on 14 September, because they cannot afford it.

Look no further than Labor's track record of broken promises in superannuation. Look no further than the almost $9 billion in additional taxes Labor has imposed on people's super savings after promising not to make any change. Look no further. Even before the last election the Labor Party made promises that they have since broken. Before the last election—I am sure you would well remember this, Acting Deputy President Boyce—the government promised that they would increase super concessional contributions, which they had previously slashed from $100,000 a year for people over 50 down to just $25,000 for all people, including people over 50. They promised they would increase that for people over 50 with super balances of less than half a million dollars, should they be successful at the election. It has not happened; it now will not happen. The increase the government is going to make is just $35,000 a year, which means that people putting money into super will have to pay higher tax if they make contributions beyond that.

The point here is that Labor has a track record of broken promises in superannuation. People across Australia who are saving to achieve a self-funded retirement cannot trust the Labor Party with their money. In contrast, the coalition has made a very clear commitment that, should we be successful at the next election, there will be no unexpected detrimental changes to superannuation.

We are being open, transparent and up-front in the lead-up to this election about what we will and will not do. Yes, we will delay the full phase-in of compulsory superannuation from 95 per cent by two years. Instead of getting there by 2019, we would get there by 2021. That will help us fund the income tax cuts and pension increases without a carbon tax. And, yes, we are quite up-front that the coalition will not proceed with the low-income super tax offset, because it is not funded and because the government does not have the money for it—because recklessly and irresponsibly they have attached it to Wayne Swan's failed mining tax, which has not raised any meaningful revenue.

I will go back to the specifics of the bills before us. Let me point out, right up-front, that the coalition will be moving amendments to excise schedules 5 and 6—the so-called loss carry-back measures—from Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 1) Bill 2013, because it is irresponsible for the government and for the parliament to proceed with them—because they are not funded. These are yet more measures which are directly linked to the MRRT, which has failed to raise any meaningful revenue. The coalition will not be complicit in exposing the Commonwealth budget to this sort of unfunded liability, moving forward.

We will not oppose the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 2) Bill. However, we just point out that the government is again cutting super co-contribution benefits for low-income earners. When they try to make people believe that their targets are high-income earners, invariably they target low- and middle-income earners with their increased taxes. Labor is no friend of low-income earners saving for their retirement through superannuation. Labor invariably runs class warfare rhetoric in the lead-up to an election or in the lead-up to yet another leadership challenge, but they invariably target low- and middle-income earners after an election or after the latest leadership challenge has been dealt with. But, with Labor, after the war is always before the war. Whenever you think: 'This is it; they've finally sorted themselves out. They finally know who is in charge. It is now going to be smooth sailing'—no, it goes on and on and on.

As well as the constant feedback that people are sick and tired of Labor chopping and changing the superannuation rules and chopping the tax rules, the other feedback I am sure people right across the chamber are getting is that people are sick and tired of Labor's shenanigans when it comes to their leadership. People cannot wait for the next election. People want to have the next election sooner rather than later so that they can put an end to this complete chaos, this complete dysfunction, this complete incompetence. People know that while this government is obsessed with itself—and while members of this government are in there fighting one battle after the other with each other—it is not focused on the national interest or on what needs to be done to ensure we have a strong, more prosperous economy and to make sure our borders are safe and secure.

In relation to the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 1) Bill 2013, people will be aware that, in the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services inquiry, we made a recommendation—you were part of that inquiry, Madam Acting Deputy President—to excise the MRRT-linked schedules from this bill. And we made it very clear that, if unsuccessful with that excision, we would oppose this bill.

The coalition were also going to move, as I flagged, an amendment to remove schedule 4, concerning off-market transfers of assets in self-managed superannuation funds. However, the government, knowing they were facing certain defeat in the House of Representatives, pre-empted our amendment to that effect in order to avoid some political embarrassment.

Schedule 1 of this bill ensures income tax is generally not payable on the interest paid by the Commonwealth on unclaimed money from 1 July 2013. You would be aware, Acting Deputy President Boyce, that late in 2012 the Gillard government, desperate to keep the illusion of a surplus in 2012-13 alive for a little longer—not for much longer, mind you—pursued a significant grab for cash at the expense of people's supposedly lost bank accounts, supposedly lost super and supposedly lost life insurance. Earlier today, after I spoke on another Labor fix through the unclaimed money bill, I had an approach from somebody whose son has been working overseas for the last four or five years. He had a bank account with the ANZ. His mother, who still lives here in Australia, had a sick husband and was not keeping too close an eye on the son's correspondence coming in from the bank. Guess what—this Gillard Labor government snaffled her son's money. The lady is deeply distressed as a direct result of the actions of this incompetent, disgraceful government that we have here in Canberra, who put their hand into people's pockets because they cannot manage their own money, because they cannot manage the affairs of government, because they have not been able to live within their means and because they have spent $220 billion more than they had raised in revenue—at a time when we had the best terms of trade in 140 years. There are pensioners in Western Australia who are deeply distressed because, as a result of this government's legislation, money is going out of their accounts without their knowledge.

Senator Carol Brown interjecting—

That is because of the legislation that you, the Labor Party, passed. You are putting your hand into people's bank accounts to plug your budget black hole. It is an absolute disgrace.