Liberal Committee chair generates ‘grudge’ report on union super
A Senate Economics References Committee reports scathing of some superannuation funds and their governance has prompted Government accusations that the Liberal chair of the committee, Senator Andrew Bragg, has a ‘grudge’ against the superannuation system.
The committee’s deputy chair, Labor Senator, Jess Walsh, described Bragg’s third interim report as “unserious, unsurprising report reflecting nothing more than his long-held loathing of Australia’s superannuation system, and the critical role of unions within it”.
The third interim report tabled in the Senate and signed off by Bragg as chair, picked up on the recent controversies surrounding big construction industry fund, Cbus, and its relationship with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU).
The most controversial elements of the committee report signed off by Bragg urged changes to legislation which would limited the ability of superannuation funds to utilise contingency reserves on the basis that “shareholders must pay regulatory fines, not consumers” and changes to impose a requirement for a majority of independent directors and an independent chair together with competency rules requiring fund directors and chairs to have relevant experience”.
Walsh was critical of Bragg’s approach claiming he, as chairman, had allowed members of the committee less than 24 hours to consider his report and had failed to call for submission to inform the report on superannuation fund governance.
“The Chair has, across three interim reports solely targeted at dismantling superannuation, failed to address the terms of reference for this inquiry, which centre on innovations to Australia’s retirement system,” she said.
“Across 3 interim reports, the only suggestion Senator Bragg has offered for improving Australia’s retirement system is to dismantle the best thing about it – our world-leading superannuation system.”
“Senator Bragg has made no serious effort to produce bipartisan recommendations on innovation for Australia’s retirement system – the terms the Senate approved for this Inquiry. Not one Australian will have one dollar more for their retirement savings as a result of this 15-month inquiry.”
“It is a waste of a 15-month inquiry for Senator Bragg to just rehash and reheat a position the Liberals held 10 years ago.”
How can you make things better when union funds are rotten to the core. Fancy such silly ideas as independent directors and competent and appropriately experienced leadership?? You’d break the jobs for the boys network.
Nothing mentioned involves dismantling superannuation. Just the graft, corruption, jobs for the boys of the union mafia is what Bragg is trying to dismantle.
How about your conflict of interest Jess Walsh? How much union money, from union businesses supplying union funds paid for by union fund members went to the Labour Party or union bosses by union funding?
Are you not just protecting your golden goose rather than worrying about what is good for the country and good for the super system? You are trying to throw up a smoke screen of misdirection to cover the rort that is the union industry fund scam.
Typical ALP response.
There is no reference to dismantling super.
There appears reference to dismantling archaic Governance arrangements that are difficult to defend in the 21st century.
Ask yourself – if super governance was something we could rebuild from scratch in a day, would you have this system?
No – you would not and for good reason.
Time to vote the ALP out of Government. They’ve been truly appalling.
Be careful what you wish for
LIF, FASEA were down to the Liberals looking after thier bank mates
It would seem that Jess Walsh doesn’t quite fathom the problem her because she may be conflicted or simply talking party lines…
When Jimmy Chalmers pushed so hard to legislate the purpose of Superannuation he missed out an important paragraph, the one that explains that: 1. Labour expects Super to line Labour’s party coffers for election funding and be a nice retirement plan for ex-Labour politicians to draw a generous income as board members.
2.Super provides a handsome slush fund for Unions and Union officials