Labor welcomes the decision of crossbench senators to reject the Turnbull Government’s unwarranted and unnecessary attacks on representative superannuation boards which are delivering for their members.

The Government’s failure to impose their ideological obsessions on the superannuation system is a very good outcome for millions of Australian workers.

We are pleased that the Senate crossbench has engaged with us and with the Bill objectively and on its merits and have concluded after long and thoughtful consideration that they will not support the Bill as it stands.

Today’s announcement that Industry Super Australia and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees will appoint former RBA Governor and Treasury Secretary Bernie Fraser to conduct a review of the governance of the not-for-profit super sector is the best way forward for Australian workers and their retirement savings.

The Government should abandon this ideological legislation and focus on the actual imperfections in the superannuation system, like the gender gap, adequacy for workers on modest incomes and employer compliance.

Their policies to freeze the superannuation guarantee, abolish the Low Income Super Contribution and weaken penalties for non-compliant employers are just making the system worse.

Super is too important to a decent retirement for Australians to be treated as an ideological plaything of the Abbott-Turnbull Government.