Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

and you can hear it now in the interjections from Senator Rennick—have been waging a tireless ideological battle against the sector. The government, by contrast, is working in the national interest, not a narrow partisan interest, and we're committed to strengthening the system in the interests of working families.

There is a difference, though, between us, Senator Pocock—through you, Chair—in approach and in the implementation arrangements. The regulations that the previous government introduced regarding the notice of annual member meetings was clunky and, like so many things in relation to superannuation, ideologically motivated. Producing mountains of paper, riddled with double counting, doesn't help.

We expect significant disclosure on the categories of expenditure undertaken by superannuation firms on behalf of their members, but a line-by-line accounting of every item serves no useful purpose. The regulations proposed introduce simplicity and clarity to this process while maintaining that transparency and accountability that I believe we have a shared commitment to implementing, Senator Pocock. Annual member meetings themselves are unchanged, allowing members to examine in great detail the expenditures of their funds.

We're not going to take lectures in accountability and transparency from the people on the other side, because the previous government presided over a decade of cover-ups and rorts. Their leader swore himself into multiple ministries and hid that from the Australian community. It's hardly time to be lecturing other people about transparency.

Our government is committed to cleaning up the mess. We're committed to improving the outcomes of super members so they can retire with dignity and comfort. We are committed to ensuring members receive information from funds that is clear and simple, with annual member meeting notices. We are committed to streamlining disclosure requirements with the national accounting standards so that funds are aligned with the financial services industry. The approach we are advocating for will improve transparency and accountability. It will clean up the unnecessary and burdensome red tape to ensure members can access the information they need in a clear and simple manner. It will assist members in preparing questions ahead of meetings and ensuring they can keep their funds accountable. Funds will continue to be required to disclose an itemised list of political donations.

AMMs are an opportunity for fund members to genuinely engage with their fund. They are an opportunity to hear from the board of trustees, directors and executives, and ask questions about important topics such as fund performance and operation. These reforms are critical to ensuring members can genuinely participate by providing them useful information, assisting them to participate by giving them information in a straightforward way.