Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, APRA has done a good job on banking stability, but I don't think APRA has done a good job in superannuation. It is disgusting, the scale and degree of the waste of money that you see in the superannuation industry. APRA has proven, at successive Senate estimates, that it won't enforce the laws that this parliament gave it to enforce. There is a law called a 'sole purpose test', which means that the super funds are only supposed to spend money on their members' retirement outcomes. But they're setting up boondoggle propaganda outfits like The New Daily and they're putting Greg Combet's head on TV, spending millions and millions of dollars advertising during football grand finals and the like. All of this is vanity and power when their job is to actually be there for their members. Their job is not to run an agenda for the Labor Party, or the trade unions, or the banks or any other interests. The job of super trustees is to work for the workers of Australia who put their money into these funds and who have been treated very poorly for 30 years. So, yes, APRA has done a good job on banking, but APRA has done a terrible job when it comes to enforcing the superannuation laws.

It's very important that this chamber, when it considers the budget reforms that our government is pursuing, does give APRA more power, because they're not using the fiduciary duty they already have to protect members' savings. We're now going to give them a best financial interest test so that the super fund members know that their money is not going to be wasted on stupid things like newspapers which are used to attack political opponents or opponents of the super industry, or endless vain advertising, as we've seen with Greg Combet putting his own face on TV, not to advertise the product but to advertise politics and a brand. Who can think of any other lobby group that has spent $40 million advertising, as we've seen in the past few months? It is really disgusting. It shows the largesse of the super industry comes about because it is compulsory, and because for 30 years they've opened the door and money has just fallen in. It's not good enough. I look forward to APRA becoming a much better protector of members' savings once this parliament gives it better powers.