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

I think the Australian people expect a superannuation system that serves them rather than the superannuation funds that administer it. The government uses its quite considerable constitutional powers to compel Australians to sequester nearly $1 in $10 of everything they earn potentially for up to 40 years, and yet they do so in a highly inefficient system. Everything that the government has done in its entire time in this parliament has been to improve the efficiency of the system through reducing the number of duplicate accounts out there—having duplicate accounts means there are two sets of fees and two sets of insurances—ensuring insurances are appropriately applied and can be claimed on; ensuring that there is competitive tension that drives fees down; and ensuring that the long tail of underperforming superannuation funds that people languish in for years and years is eliminated from this system. Indeed, the bills that are before us now are about making superannuation more flexible, specifically for older Australians who haven't had the benefit of compulsory superannuation throughout their working lives. We will continue unapologetically to do so.