Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The recent attacks on the superannuation system by the Liberal Party reveal the true face of the government when it comes to supporting workers in retirement. Under Mr Abbott, the Liberals delayed increases to the superannuation guarantee, and last week members of the government lined up one after the other to suggest further delays to the increase in super for working people. Mr Kelly floated the idea of opening up super for housing deposits before stating that he didn't think voters would see it as a broken promise if the government were to delay the super guarantee's rise to 12 per cent. Senator Patterson said that he recognised it's no good putting more money into super if that system is broken. Mr Wilson suggested weakening the superannuation guarantee by making future increases voluntary. And in his first speech to the Senate here in this place Senator Bragg revealed the true agenda when he suggested that, for some, superannuation be abolished altogether.

It is hard not to see this as an absolutely coordinated attack by Liberal Party backbenchers on the superannuation system. The Liberal Party, at its core, is opposed to compulsory superannuation. It's actually quite puzzling, because our super system is the envy of many other comparable countries. It's puzzling because super is consistent with Liberal ideals around saving and it's puzzling because superannuation eases pressure on the age pension. But the hostility to this system demonstrates just how out of touch the government are with ordinary Australians, because their approach to superannuation would see low-income workers worse off in retirement, and the majority of those low-income workers are women.

Compulsory superannuation offers a chance for all working Australians to have a dignified retirement and access to a pool of savings that was once only afforded to very wealthy people, who were mostly men. For women, superannuation should provide the opportunity to achieve economic security in retirement. The reality is that the balances for women at retirement are still far from adequate, and government policy settings are a big part of this. More than half of working women do not receive any of the $30 billion in superannuation tax concessions each year. The pay gap for men and women has been stuck at around 18 per cent for nearly two decades, and the government have no plans to address this.

Yet, even in this context, the government backbenchers are now out advocating for a policy that will make things so much worse for working women. Increasing the rate of superannuation from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent is critical to providing economic security for women in retirement. Abandoning it will significantly undermine the ability for many women to have any chance of a comfortable retirement. Modelling from Women in Super shows that today's average 30-year-old woman receiving 9.5 per cent across her working life will fall short of a comfortable retirement, and that's the prognosis for a woman who retires with no debt, with good health and with limited expenses. Astonishingly, Women in Super's analysis suggests that only 2½ per cent of women currently between 30 and 40 years of age will reach a comfortable retirement standard.

Further modelling shows that a 25-year-old woman earning $35,000 a year could lose 15 per cent from her retirement balance if the current timetable to reach 12 per cent is abandoned. That is over $41,000 in today's dollars, and if that woman takes time out to care for children and works part-time over nine years, she will lose a further $35,000 of her retirement balance.

For women who work for less than average wages the prospect in retirement is significantly grimmer. And it's borne out in the stats because 40 per cent of older single retired women currently experience economic insecurity in retirement, and they are the fastest group experiencing homelessness. Without an increase to 12 per cent future generations of women could face a similar situation.

The comments from members of this government advocating a delay, or abandoning the increase to 12 per cent, demonstrate just how indifferent they are to the plight of today's women. It makes you wonder if any of them have ever actually met a low-income woman.

We should not expect women to go it alone. Women expect better from people on the government benches. This isn't just an issue for women who are retiring in the coming years; it's an issue for women who are entering the workforce for their first day on the job today. Government attitudes towards superannuation for women need to change fast or we will condemn the current generation to poverty in retirement.