Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

The average working woman, of course, retires with a lot less than that. This is about lowering the concessional rate. It's still very concessional, in the tax system, but just lowering it for high-balance superannuation accounts. I accept that you don't agree with it, but this stunt today, seriously, under the guise that you're trying to protect people's superannuation balances at the same time that you have Senator Bragg there grinning at the thought of dismantling the superannuation system—nothing gives him greater joy than the idea that he might be able to systematically undermine superannuation in this country.

They're quite open about it. We have conversations about how the Liberal Party doesn't support superannuation. I think you should just say it. You don't support super, you've never supported super and you will never support super. But the thing that you didn't support, the superannuation guarantee going up for working Australians, you wanted to keep at 9½ per cent. You tried to undermine it there. You don't like the fact that it's getting to 12 per cent. Yet you'll fight tooth and nail to stop this legislation passing, about lowering a concessional rate slightly for balances over $3 million.

Let's just be clear what's happening here. Whilst you're trying to get rid of it for everyone else and dismantle it and lower the standards and ensure that more people are pushed onto the age pension than need to be, instead of living a dignified retirement, you will go into bat to make sure that those who are fortunate enough to have more than $3 million get a slightly lower concessional tax rate. That is what you are saying here.

We don't agree. We don't agree with the suspension, we don't agree with your attacks on super and we will always stand against it.