19th Mar 2024, 4:31 PM – Representatives Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023 - Second Reading - Criticism of Government

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). The amendment would have added the text below.

Amendment text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the former Government delivered major reforms to superannuation that supported better member outcomes, better performance, and transparent governance, and that were driven by the clear understanding that superannuation is Australians' money;

(b) the Prime Minister and the Treasurer promised no changes to superannuation prior to the election and the Prime Minister promised 'no major changes' to superannuation in February 2023, but have since broken that promise by introducing a new superannuation tax on unrealised capital gains, which is a world first wealth tax that will hurt farmers and family businesses and force Australians to pay tax on money they have not earned; and

(c) that the Government's failure to index their new superannuation tax means up to two million young Australians earning average wages today will face a wealth tax, according to analysis of Treasury modelling published in The Australian; and

(2) calls on the Government to abandon its broken promise on taxing superannuation".