Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McAllister for her question and her sincere and enduring interest in the economic welfare of women in retirement. This was a measure that was first raised in the 2018 Women's Economic Security Statement, and we have been actively listening to stakeholders in this area and reflecting on their views. Stakeholders have raised concerns about this proposal; that is true. We understand their concerns. As both the Prime Minister and I have said this week, the measure is now under review, and that's exactly what that means. The measure was in fact originally proposed, you might recall, by the super fund HESTA. Around 80 per cent of its members are women. It was in fact supported not just by HESTA but also by the industry superannuation funds generally.

The most important thing here is that we get the safeguards right. The safeguards need to be in place to ensure that women taking money out of their superannuation to flee a dangerous relationship are not being in any way coerced to do so. If we can't get those safeguards right and if we get the feedback from those frontline workers in particular, who know the difficulty faced by victims fleeing violent relationships, every single day, the measure simply won't proceed.

The Morrison government is acting to support women's safety in their homes, in their communities, in their workplaces and online. The Commonwealth has led the way with the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, which will be succeeded by the national plan next year. Since coming to office in 2013, we've committed more than $1 billion to women and children facing family, domestic and sexual violence. There will be further consultation as we develop the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children— (Time expired)