Outsider was just a little bit amused when he saw that recently-elected Victorian Liberal Senator, Jane Hume, had used a public hearing of the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into the non-payment of the superannuation guarantee to ask Industry Super Australia (ISA) apparatchik, Matthew Linden, for some detailed analysis of how ISA is funded.
The cause of Outsider’s amusement was not so much the question (which was entirely legitimate and warranted) but rather the manner in which it pitted one side against another in the traditional cut and thrust of Liberal versus Labor and the on-going battle between industry funds and the banks.
You see, before Senator Hume entered the Senate at last year’s Federal Election she was one of the youngest female executives at National Australia Bank and before he joined the comrades at ISA, Linden was an adviser to former Federal Labor Treasurer, Wayne Swan.
It seems that Linden also did some time at Royal Military College, Duntroon, which possibly explains how he managed to use his answer to a question on notice from Senator Hume to provide nothing which wasn’t already known and certainly would not assist the enemy.
Linden’s answer provided no more than the ISA’s name, rank and serial number.
Senator Hume may need to do some research on effective interrogation techniques.
