Superannuation shouldn’t be a political issue and the Government is failing future retirees by delaying increases in the superannuation guarantee (SG).
Speaking at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Emergency Superannuation Summit, John Hewson, former LNP leader, said super should not be a political issue.
“It’s not about political expediency, it’s not about the COVID recovery or the need to exit the COVID recession,” Hewson said.
“It’s about longer-term strategic challenges, the important one being to adequately prepare workers to afford their retirement.
“It’s a challenge for good and responsible government; unfortunately, because the LNP have a pretty disappointing track record when it comes to compulsory super.”
Hewson noted the delays of what was legislated by the Gillard government which left the SG stuck at the current 9.5% rate.
“The debate today is whether we can go the next 0.5% in the middle of next year having seen that significant delay,” Hewson said.
“And the government is finding any argument not to do it, the wage impacts, weaker growth or job prospects.
“It’s never a good time for them to think about doing it because they don’t want to do it.”
When asked how employers would react if the legislation did not go ahead, Bill Kelty, former ACTU Secretary and a founder of the superannuation system, said they had made those commitments on the basis of a political decision to increase the SG to 12%.
“That’s a breach of faith not only to the employees but to the employers who went out and made those decisions,” Kelty said.
Kelty said there was no argument against raising the SG and it was a commitment already made, and that a higher SG rate was good enough for Members of Parliament.
“The 12% was a commitment, people frame their expectations and their obligations around the 12%; companies went out and negotiated it in advance,” Kelty said.
“Not one candidate in this country said they opposed superannuation going to 12% and certainly the government didn’t.
“But most important, it’s the extra dignity that is required in the generations ahead; it’s the extra two or three years of retirement.”
Hewson said the Government shouldn’t shy away from SG increases as they were now more important than ever as Australians needed to maintain higher superannuation balances.
“It’s not defensible to say current situations are tough… that’s not an argument, that’s an excuse,” Hewson said.
“We somehow dropped back to the idea that 12% is adequate when people are living longer and 15% may be the minimum that we should be considering.
“Do it in two stages: get to 12% then go to 15%; it’s a challenge for the government and it’s a litmus test to see whether this Treasurer and Prime Minister really understand the issue of superannuation and are prepared to lead on that issue.
“If you want to play the electoral game of short-term populist politics and say tough times during COVID so we can’t afford it, then that’s really an irresponsible attitude.”
