The LNP want to wreck superannuation

Peter Dutton’s announcement that he will repeal Labor’s superannuation laws if he miraculously becomes Prime Minister is all the proof we need that the LNP should not be in government.

The problem is that every government does something similar whenever they gain power, meaning there is no certainty for future retirees about their retirement.

This has been the problem ever since compulsory superannuation was first introduced by the Keating government in 1992. There has never been any consistency with how superannuation has been paid.

Originally, Keating set employers’ contribution rates at 3% of the employees’ incomes, and employee’s contribution rates were intended to start at 1% beginning in 1997 and increasing to 3% in 1999.

However, when the Howard government came to power in 1996, they cancelled employees’ contributions, and limited employers’ contributions to ordinary time worked, excluding overtime. This benefitted employers but meant employees would have less to retire on.

The employer rate was allowed to increase to 9% by 2002, then the Gillard government announced it would increase further to 12% by 2019. This again meant that employees would have more to retire on.

Then the Abbott government deferred the rise to 12% by six years until 2025, meaning that again employers won out at the expense of employees.

During the time of the previous Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government, rules were also introduced that allowed high income earners to use superannuation funds as a means of avoiding tax, while weakening its benefits for lower income earners.

The former LNP government also allowed easy access to superannuation funds for the majority of Australians, meaning they would have less to retire on.

The Albanese government wants to fix the mess the previous LNP government made of the superannuation system by limiting the tax concessions for those with over $3 million in superannuation, and stopping early withdrawal of superannuation funds, except in extreme circumstances.

Now Dutton has stated that he will repeal Labor’s laws some time in the future, which will only benefit the very wealthy. This is a completely reckless and pointless idea, and only adds to the instability of the superannuation system.

It seems every time the LNP get into government, they attack superannuation to benefit employers and make it less viable for employees. At the same time, they make it almost impossible to get the aged pension.

This will inevitably mean that there will be no security for future retirees in their retirement. The superannuation scheme introduced by Keating is almost unrecognisable today.

Add to this that the LNP want superannuation funds to be available to anybody at any time, for almost any reason. If employees are allowed to withdraw their superannuation funds before retirement, that means they will not have these funds when they retire.

A case can be made to allow some of the funds to be withdrawn for a deposit on a house. It has been demonstrated many times that retirees who own their own house are far better off than retirees who pay rent.

However, allowing these funds to be withdrawn for any other purpose is irresponsible, and should be stopped. This is exactly what Labor plan to achieve, and the majority of people are in favour of it.

So why do the LNP want people to be able to freely access their superannuation? One theory is that people would be able to buy the things they want without asking for wage rises. Whether this theory has any foundations is only speculation.

We have seen wages increases stagnate under the previous LNP government, while the cost of living has soared to record levels. This is a sign of bad economic management, which seems to be a trademark of LNP governments.

With such a bad record of economic management, it is little wonder that most people do not see the merit in Dutton’s plans to repeal Labor’s latest superannuation laws.

The question is also in the back of peoples’ minds as to what else will the LNP do to superannuation? We have seen in the past with LNP governments that they change the laws to benefit employers and disadvantage employees. There is a high likelihood that they will do the same again.

Superannuation is meant to be a retirement plan for employees, but with each successive government constantly changing the goal posts, there is no certainty for the average Australian.

As it stands now, most Australians will not have enough superannuation to retire on. For the LNP to be saying that they want to make that situation even worse is beyond comprehension.

Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based Social Justice Campaigner, Writer, Teacher and Business Consultant. He has campaigned for social justice in Australia, promoted human rights in China and worked with the homeless in Honolulu. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Education and a degree in Management.