Opposition loses key vehicle for super criticism/scrutiny
The Senate Inquiry central to questioning the activities of Cbus and other industry funds in the last Parliament was due to deliver its final report today but there is no certainty it actually will.
With Parliament yet to resume after the election, the Senate Economics References Committee inquiry into Improving consumer experiences, choice, and outcomes in Australia’s retirement system has still not delivered a final report.
However, it has delivered three interim reports all of which reflected the fact the Federal Opposition had the whip hand with NSW Liberal Senator, Andrew Bragg being the chair.
The significant increase in Government numbers in the Parliament will alter the make-up of the committee and the ability of the Federal Opposition to leverage as a vehicle for scrutiny and criticism of Government policy.
As well, having been elevated to the Federal Opposition front bench as shadow minister for Housing and Homelessness, Senator Bragg, will no longer be chair of the committee.
But, in any case, the recent superannuation fund governance discussion paper issued by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) appears to have picked up on a number of the committee recommendations from the previous parliament, not least regulator oversight of trustee board appointments.
The third interim report was delivered in February, and its first recommendation appeared to be a pointed attack aimed at the industry funds equal representation board model.
The third interim report recommended that “a requirement be introduced for superannuation trustee board to have a majority of independent directors, and an independent chair.
It also recommended that director competency rules be introduced which would mandate, at a minimum, relevant experience requirements that would apply to the chair of a superannuation trustee board.
It also recommended that APRA be “empowered with an ad judicable pathway to remove a trustee where an assessment is made that a material conflict of interest exists.
The committee recommended the government introduce new mandatory reporting requirements on APRA to report on Best Financial Interest Duty (BFID) decisions of super funds, to align with existing APRA standards.
The Government senators on Bragg’s committee rejected the bulk of the third interim report’s recommendations and specifically supported the existing equal representation model utilised by industry funds, arguing that it delivers best results to fund members.
Unions, ALP and Industry Super have out played LNP for decades on the ever growing ISF gorilla that now dominates ALP and Canberra.
LNP have been asleep to the enormous power and corrupt deals that spider web between Unions, Bikies, ISF, ALP and their control over Canberras regulators.
Whilst the ISF lot charge up food and drinks at their members paid for MCG sports box, the hopeless LNP don’t even have any tickets to the stadium.
No one will notice or care that Bragg has moved on. He had all the influence of a wet lettuce leaf!
Another Canberra joke. Disgusting