Joe Bullock (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This government could not be trusted out of sight on superannuation, let alone until 2025. They sought to defer the first increase for a year, then two and now for a seven-year freeze. Heaven knows what their position will be in 2025.

What is this going to cost Australian workers? The Financial Services Council calculates working Australians will have $128 billion less in their accounts by 2025—that is, $128 billion less—and this from a government in which Prime Minister Abbott repeatedly promised there would be no adverse changes to superannuation. This is the Prime Minister's $128 billion broken promise to the workers of Australia. This no-surprises government has this vision for Australian workers in their retirement: work until you are 70, accumulate less superannuation and when thrown onto the pension subsist on a pension which increases at a rate lower than your working-neighbours' wages. It is $128 billion—and Senator Cormann says this is not an adverse change!

I have negotiated wage increases for shop assistants for 37 years and I have never heard an employer say, 'Well Joe, there's no superannuation increase this year, so we're going to top-up our wages offer by half a per cent.' In my experience employers negotiate hard, to limit wage increases to the lowest amount possible. Arising from the super freeze, there will be no increase in wages, no lift in spending, no lift in consumer confidence and no increase in tax receipts. What will this do to the government's proposed budget improvement of $1.23 billion? I will leave it to you to find out. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.