Labor to get stuck into super

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) will set up an inquiry into superannuation within 100 days of taking office, Labor party deputy leader Simon Crean announced as part of the party’s election campaign.

Crean, who is also the shadow treasurer says that if the ALP won government it would look at issues such as the tax treatment of superannuation, adequacy of retirement savings, prudential regulation and the interaction between superannuation and the age pension, as a priority.

“Superannuation needs proper consideration but we are not going to take our time on it. We want to hit the ground running,” he says.

The treasurer, Peter Costello, first mooted an inquiry into superannuation following the 2000 budget, but the superannuation industry has since been frustrated by the government’s unwillingness to commit to a definite timetable for the review.

Crean says the Howard government’s failure to conduct a review is an indication that it is reluctant to engage in a discussion about the state of superannuation and retirement income savings.

“Superannuation has only ever been advanced under a Labor government,” he says.

The ALP announcement follows the release of a new poll by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), which suggests that superannuation could become a key campaigning ground in some of the country’s most marginal electorates.

The polling - conducted in the NSW electorate of Richmond, currently held by the National Party by a margin of 0.1 per cent, and in the Adelaide electorate of Makin, held by less than 0.8 per cent by the Liberals - found that seven out of 10 voters would prefer the removal of taxes on super contributions to a personal income tax cut.

“The importance of retirement savings as an electoral issue is confirmed. An opportunity exists for the political contenders to fill the superannuation policy vacuum and formulate a clear action plan for our retirement future,” ASFA chief execuitve Philippa Smith says.

The ALP also reaffirmed its commitment yesterday to requiring super payments to be made quarterly rather than annually.

Labor leader Kim Beazley says the plan, which forms part of the ALP’s job security election platform, will make employee’s entitlements fairer and safer.