Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about something that I'm extremely passionate about, and that is equality for girls and women and how it relates to superannuation and homelessness. As a Labor senator for Tasmania, as a mother, a grandmother and as a woman, I'm always thinking about how government can make life better for all Tasmanians. I'm also committed to equality. That means I believe in the principle of equality, of opportunity, so every Tasmanian, regardless of where they come from, gets the same opportunities. There will be those who argue that women are now equal to men in every way, but we know that's not the case. There is still plenty to do. An area I am particularly interested in is the question around financial independence and financial security of women. This is something which is becoming increasingly difficult.

We have a superannuation system that disadvantages women. The idea was that superannuation could provide security and dignity to all Australians in their retirement. It was one of the great ideas of the 20th century. Although the super scheme in Tasmania is a wonderful initiative, unfortunately it isn't without its problems. Employers don't always honour their legal requirements to pay the Australian workforce their super. Australian women will today retire with 47 per cent less superannuation than men, with almost 40 per cent of older single women living in poverty and enduring poor economic security in retirement.

Why is this so evident in Australian society when women make up 46.9 per cent of today's modern workforce? There are many factors that influence the gender imbalance disadvantaging a woman's ability to earn superannuation. It is well known that women working full time earn 18 per cent less than men. Noting that 43 per cent of women only work part time, women have an average salary of only $44,000. Almost 220,000 women miss out on $125 million of superannuation contributions as they unfortunately fail to meet the current requirement to earn $450 per month from a single employer before tax. Many women work several jobs part time, and they often spend an average of five hours per day catering for family needs. Female graduates also earn $5,000 less than their male counterparts, in turn making it difficult to meet mandatory superannuation earning requirements. The current 9.5 per cent superannuation guarantee disadvantages most women to accrue enough superannuation savings for a comfortable retirement, meaning that 8.5 per cent of women between the age of 65 and 74 still have a mortgage to pay. Governments of all persuasions should be focused on protecting the universality of superannuation and rejecting any attempts to make super optional for Australian workers.

Yesterday I met with representatives and members of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, the ASU and the ANMF and spoke to them about their stories, their own lived experiences of how they have been disadvantaged by not being in the workforce for the entire amount of time that men usually are. In fact, there was one woman whose marriage had broken down and she'd returned to the workforce at the age of 44, so she was severely disadvantaged in trying to ensure she had a retirement that provided her a level of comfort and dignity. I heard heartfelt stories of a system which is unfair. Many of these women lost tens of thousands of dollars in super because of the super guarantee freeze brought in by the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2014. This freeze has hurt people and in particular women who work in retail, hospitality, aged care and other service based industries. It was a poor policy decision, and women are hurting now and will hurt in retirement because of this sexist decision.

It is fundamental that the superannuation contribution guarantee rate is increased as soon as possible. This isn't going to happen any time soon under this government. Under current legislation, it is set to rise to just 10 per cent in 2021 before increasing to 12 per cent by mid-2025. Further reform which would make the system fairer would be to close the retirement gender super gap by paying a superannuation contribution at the prevailing SGC rate for the government's Paid Parental Leave Scheme and on all government carer and family payments. We must continue to advocate for this reform because it will benefit all Australians.

Turning to my home state of Tasmania, the numbers are really very concerning when it comes to the superannuation guarantee freeze. There are 179,150 people affected by this freeze, and it equates to a total superannuation loss of $251.1 million. It also equates to a total extra personal income tax grab from the government of $89.6 million. This government's policy on super is hurting people in my home state of Tasmania, and women will be affected the most. It means low-income workers are missing out on lost superannuation, low-income earners are having a smaller retirement nest egg and low-income earners have been slugged with extra personal tax. Again, women are far worse off because of this government. Fifty-eight per cent, or over six million workers, earning under $52,000 are women. Fewer hours and lower pay contribute substantially to the retirement gender super gap, and super opt-out plans also compound the problems faced by female workers.

In moving forward, there are several self-help things women can do to improve superannuation savings, including salary sacrifice, where your super account contributions get taxed at 15 per cent. Essentially, the more salary you put into your super, the smaller your taxable income may be, and that could mean even more savings at tax time. I encourage women to look at what options they have to increase their incremental savings so that they can provide a better retirement income for themselves.

Labor believes that no Australian should be penalised for taking time out of paid work to have children. Government makes it easier for employees to make extra payments into a women's superannuation fund, which means the Australian government should legislate to increase superannuation from nine per cent to 12 per cent—or, ideally, 15 per cent—sooner. People are living longer and I echo former prime minister Paul Keating's comments in this space. Australians deserve a good retirement not just an average retirement. Super must be increased to 15 per cent for the long-term security of people's retirement.

The fight for equality of opportunity continues but we must improve the social and economic outcomes for women. One result of a super system that disadvantaged one sex over the other is the increasing number of homeless women in our community. Homelessness in Tasmania has become an issue of real concern over the last five years. It is a failure of our society and government that we are looking for solutions to this problem. The fact is that people experiencing homelessness are increasingly likely to be women in their late 40s. Many women are forced into homelessness due to their economic circumstances or through domestic violence. Over a third of women over the age of 15 have experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence at the hands of a current or former partner. Many women have no choice in being forced out of their homes due to fears for their health and safety and the protection of their children.