E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
PARLIAMENT HOUSE
WEDNESDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2015

SUBJECT/S: Crossbench Decision on Super Governance Legislation

CHALMERS: Labor welcomes the decision taken by crossbenchers in the Senate today to reject the Government's unnecessary and unwarranted attacks on super boards which are delivering good returns for their members. The Government's humiliating failure to impose their ideological obsessions on the super system is a good outcome for Australian workers. The superannuation system is far too important to the retirement incomes of millions of Australians to be treated as the ideological plaything of the Abbott-Turnbull Government.

We welcome the decision taken today, we are very pleased to see that the Senate crossbench has engaged with us, with the industry, with the Bill on its merits, and after long and thoughtful consideration have decided that they can't support the Bill in its current form.

We're also very pleased to see the industry agree to lead a review of the not-for-profit funds to ensure that we are in this country benefiting from the best practice governance of all of our super boards, but in this case, particularly the not-for-profit superannuation boards.

We call on the Government now to abandon this legislation - to abandon this legislation which is ideological in nature and focus instead on the actual imperfections in the superannuation system. Things like adequacy for people on modest incomes, things like the gender gap in superannuation, thinks like the non-payment and the non-compliance with superannuation contribution laws in this country, and things like the unfair tax concessions that currently exist in the superannuation system.

So this is a good day for Australian workers. I say well done to the Senate crossbench - you have come to a very good, very positive, very forward-looking outcome which is good for Australian workers, good for their retirement incomes and gives us a way forward in the future.

ENDS