Will super probes continue in Wilson’s absence?

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

6 October 2021

The parliamentarian responsible for asking industry superannuation funds some of the most probing questions regarding their sponsorship activities and how much their chief executives earn will fall silent because he has been promoted to the outer ministry.

The chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Tim Wilson has been promoted to assistant minister within the industry, energy and emissions reduction portfolios meaning that his chairmanship of the key committee will end.

Wilson made a name for himself during the last Federal election when he led the charge against the Australian Labor Party’s controversial approach to franking credits and, in the process, was accused of seeking to use the Parliamentary Committee system for party political purposes.

He then used his chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee and its ongoing review of the Major Banks and Financial Institutions to pose hundreds of questions on notice which compelled not only industry superannuation funds but their associated entities to detail their practices.

Retail superannuation funds were also subjected to tough questioning before the committee, not least by Labor parliamentarians.

Most recently, questions on notice to major industry fund, REST revealed that its chief executive Vicki Doyle received a base salary of $641,397 and an incentive payment of $158,976 in 2019-20.

His questioning also elicited the response that Doyle earned the same base salary in 2020-21 but no decision had been made about whether she would receive an incentive payment.

Wilson also distinguished himself with respect to the frequency with which he called industry funds-owned manager, IFM Investors before the committee notwithstanding the fact it was the only fund manager asked to appear in relation to superannuation matters.