Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Hansard source

Nine months—nine short months in power for this Labor government—is all it took them to start raiding the retirement funds of hardworking Australians. Their official position has seamlessly moved from 'no changes to super' to 'a conversation around super' and now a doubling of your tax rate. Don't worry: it's going to impact only a small percentage of Australians. But for how long? How long is that going to last? Probably not very long. It is typical Labor class warfare—another broken promise. But are you surprised?

I can just imagine retirees grinding their teeth at the very concept of super Jim's proposal. Treasurer Jim Chalmers clearly sees himself as a modern-day Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the—not the poor, no; giving to himself, giving to the federal government. Our nation is trapped in a cycle of debt and deficit for which both sides of government are responsible. It appears to be politically inconvenient for any government to attempt to balance the budget or repay our debt. Do you know what? They are as bad as each other. I guess everyone here loves their political career just a bit too much.

Whatever happened to courage? What happened to the greater good? The Australian people are hurting. Their budgets are being smashed by unchecked inflation, and they're cutting costs wherever they can. Forget eating out, forget family holidays; a mortgage comes first. Our Treasurer must emulate the actions of the Australian people: tighten your fiscal belt and produce a lean budget that is suitable for tough times. Raiding superannuation like a thief in the night is not the answer. It is not.