STEPHEN JONES MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND SUPERANNUATION
MEMBER FOR WHITLAM
 
SENATOR MURRAY WATT
SHADOW MINISTER FOR NORTHERN AUSTRALIA
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
SHADOW MINISTER FOR QUEENSLAND RESOURCES
LABOR SENATOR FOR QUEENSLAND 

SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER
SHADOW CABINET SECRETARY
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE LABOR LEADER IN THE SENATE
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMMUNITIES AND THE PREVENTION OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
LABOR SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES

 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
THURSDAY, 17 JUNE 2021

SUBJECT: Government’s dodgy super deal with One Nation.

STEPHEN JONES, SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND SUPERANNUATION: Good morning everyone. Last night it became clear that the Government has done a deal with Pauline Hanson's One Nation to ram through its controversial superannuation changes. What's bad about this deal? Well it leaves average workers up to $230,000 worse off in retirement. But appallingly, it gives a benefit, a direct benefit, to Pauline Hanson herself and to politicians. Politicians get $30,000 out of this deal. Average workers, $230,000 over their lifetime worse off. This duel cannot stand. It must be knocked over. We're calling on all senators, in fact, all MPS to knock this over. It cannot stand. Members of the public will punish you if you vote for a deal which fills your pockets while leaving workers worse off. You know, the other appalling thing about this deal is what it allows the government to ram through. Two weeks ago the Nationals were running around here, Barnaby Joyce was saying I've got a big win out of Josh Frydenberg and the Government because they've removed the directions power from the superannuation legislation. This is the power that allows the Treasurer to be Trustee in Chief and cancel any investment that he does not like. Well, obviously, what's happened is that Josh Frydenberg’s pulled the wool over the eyes of Barnaby Joyce, and Matt Canavan and all the other Nationals. The National Party, believe you me, the National Party have been duded by this deal. Not only have they conspired with the enemies of the National Party in One Nation, but they've actually lied to the National Party MPs by leaving the power in the bill. This bill cannot stand. The National Party should do the right thing and stand up by to their constituencies and they should be asking questions of Josh Frydenberg. Why did you tell us that you'd remove the direction power but it's still hidden there in the Bill? Why have you done a deal with one nation which lines the pockets of politicians while leading ordinary workers worse off? This is an obnoxious deal. It's an atrocious deal. It cannot stand, and we're calling on all members of the Senate to do the right thing and knock it off.

JENNY MCALLISTER, LABOR SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES: Look, I wanted to make a few remarks about what happened last night and what we can expect to see today. Last night, the Government came into the chamber without notice, without warning and moved a motion that will ensure that three important bills that go to the retirement incomes of working Australians will be rammed through without adequate debate and without adequate scrutiny. This is a $3 trillion industry. This is the system that protects the dignity and retirement of ordinary people. This is not the way to make policy about people's retirement incomes. Because what it will mean is that over the course of this morning, the Senate will be required to vote on amendment after amendment after amendment. We still haven't seen the Government's amendments for today. And yet by 11:45, wherever the state of the debate is up to, the debate will be cut off. And Senators will be asked to vote one by one, by one by one, on every single amendment that is before them in the chamber. Amendments which they have not even seen yet. This is no way to run a chamber. This is in fact, a disgraceful way to conduct business in relation to a matter that means so much to ordinary people. And it's entirely consistent with everything the Liberals have done on superannuation for the last eight years. They have a weird hostility to this system, essentially because they didn't think of it. They have a weird hostility of the system because they cannot bear the idea that ordinary working people and their representatives should have a say in the funds that are accumulated to support the interests of working Australians in their retirement. This isn't about the evidence, and I'd point you to the remarks made recently by Innes Willox. Now Innes Willox is no socialist. But what he said is that what we need to do is look at the evidence. He called on people like Senator Bragg to put aside the animus built up through the years he spent working for the Financial Services Council. Put aside his prejudice and animus and hostility to industry super and actually engage with the evidence. Engage with the criticisms of this bill made by the ACTU, by AI Group, by business by other stakeholders and just deal with the national interest, instead of their entrenched ideological hostility to this system which mean so much for so many people.

MURRAY WATT, LABOR SENATOR FOR QUEENSLAND: Thanks Jenny. I just wanted to focus on one aspect of the bill that the Senate is dealing with today. And that is a disgraceful, shonky attempt by Pauline Hanson to use her position in this Senate to benefit herself personally. What we saw last night in the Senate from Pauline Hanson was Pauline's payday. Pauline Hanson has introduced an amendment to this Bill which would directly benefit her and give her and very few other people a $30,000 pay rise, while average working people actually are seeing a cut to their superannuation benefits. Pauline Hanson constantly runs around Queensland telling battlers that she's on their side. But every time she comes down to Canberra, the person she's on the side of is herself. Pauline Hanson consistently shows that however, much she talks about helping battlers she is only in politics to help herself. The amendment that she has moved would improve and reduce the tax payable on superannuation contributions, but only for high-income earners like herself and only for people who are 67 years or older. So to get the benefit of Pauline Hansen's amendment that she has moved, you've got to be a high-income earner and you've got to be at least 67. Now, guess how old Pauline Hanson is? Sixty-seven, how about that? How did she come up with that number? I wonder why not 65? Why not 60? Why not 70? Sixty-seven. Guess who's 67? Pauline Hanson. Guess who's a high-income earner? Pauline Hanson. So every time that Pauline Hanson wants to run around Queensland telling battlers that she's on their side, everyone knows she's only on one person's side. She's on her own side.

ENDS