The Federal Opposition has accused the Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten, of having applied undue influence on the findings of the Productivity Commission on the key question of superannuation default funds under modern awards.
Shorten released the Productivity Commission's final report today, revealing that it had opted to maintain the primacy of the industrial relations parties – Fair Work Australia and the unions – via the awards.
Commenting on the outcome, Opposition Financial Services spokesman Senator Mathias Cormann said he believed it reflected the minister's "bullying of the commission at the behest of his friends in the union movement".
"It is clear that as a result of Bill Shorten's unprecedented intervention two months ago, when he effectively responded to the Productivity Commission review before it had been finalised, he forced the commission away from its previous recommendations to ensure genuine competition in the superannuation default fund market," Cormann said.
He committed a future Coalition to the task of addressing the issue.
