One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson explain their new superannuation policy. Photo: Facebook.
One Nation wants to give Australians paying rent or a mortgage the freedom to divert 3 per cent of their future compulsory superannuation contributions to their bank accounts to help with the cost of living.
They would only be able to do it for a maximum of three years, in a measure the party’s leader, Pauline Hanson, says will help those who are struggling to pay their bills right now.
“People are working hard and still struggling to get ahead. Interest rates keep rising; rents keep climbing; groceries, power bills, petrol and insurance are taking more and more out of the family budget,” Senator Hanson said on Monday (7 September).
“Inflation is hurting Australian families and Labor’s economic incompetence is making life harder. One Nation wants to give people some breathing room.
“If you are paying rent or a mortgage on your home, One Nation will allow you to choose to receive one quarter of your future compulsory super contributions in your take-home pay for up to three years.
“Super is currently 12 per cent of your wages. Your employer will still pay the full 12 per cent.
“But if you take the boost, one quarter of this contribution will be paid directly to you by your super fund.
“And you won’t be slugged with your normal income-tax rate on it either.”
Under the policy, the money would be taxed at the same low rate it would have received in super.
For a full-time worker earning about $90,500, it would mean about $2,300 a year after tax extra in their pockets – or $44 a week.
For a working couple earning $168,000 between them, it would be about $4,300 a year after tax, or $82 a week.
“If they feel that they want to access that and get one quarter of their superannuation, they’re putting away each week, like I said, $44 can mean that people can pay their bills, their electricity, put food on the table or get medical attention,” Senator Hanson said.
“So that means a lot to a lot of people.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers immediately panned the idea, saying it would make Australians worse off in retirement.
“It’s now beyond doubt that any Coalition government with One Nation in it will cut your super,” he said.
“This means less money and less economic security for millions of Australian workers.
“This will end superannuation as we know it and make millions of Australians poorer as a consequence.
“One Nation is anti‑super because One Nation is anti‑worker. You can’t be pro‑worker and anti‑superannuation.”
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said: “It’s obvious One Nation wants you to raid your super instead of getting a pay increase. We support higher wages and better super when you retire.”
The One Nation leader denied that she intended to shut down the superannuation system.
“I believe that these people need a helping hand,” she said.
“Now our Treasurer Jim Chalmers is saying that I want to shut the super down.
“That’s the furthest thing from the truth. I’m not intending to shut super down.”
Despite the Treasurer suggesting the Coalition was in cahoots with One Nation on superannuation policy, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said Senator Hanson’s proposal raises more questions than it answers.
“There are all sorts of questions that I haven’t seen answered on it,” Mr Taylor said.
“Is that money going to get access to the tax concessions of superannuation? How will paid parental leave superannuation be dealt with in this? Will this contribute to the concessional caps?
“I mean, what we see with these policy announcements constantly is no detail, and the detail really matters.”
One Nation’s treasury spokesman Barnaby Joyce can’t see why either of the major parties would have any issue with the policy, suggesting it was only tweaking at the edges of how superannuation is managed.
“This is not a seismic shift in administration. It’s a change in attitude – that if you’re doing it tough, you get some of your own money back,” he said.
“What we are doing here is giving people back some of their own money from the future, not taking it out of their current balance, but some of their own money in the future.
“And what we have to realise is that superannuation is not a national asset. It’s [an] individual’s asset.
“If you lose your house… you’re going to be vastly worse off than the benefit you’ll get from that margin of investment over the longer term.
“I just can’t see why the government’s got a problem with this.”
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
