The Federal Opposition has questioned why a majority of appointees to the body responsible for running the key Commonwealth superannuation funds are former senior union officials, three of whom are directly appointed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
The Opposition spokesman on Financial Services, Senator Mathias Cormann (pictured), raised the issue of the make-up of the trustee board of the Australian Reward Investment Alliance (ARIA) during Senate Committee hearings and questioned why four of the seven members have union backgrounds.
When told by an ARIA representative the trustee board appointments were made on the basis of equal representation and in accordance with the statutory provisions of the relevant legislation, Cormann expressed surprise and said Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed that only 41 per cent of public sector employees were union members.
“Yet unions have a majority on your board. Why is that a fair reflection of the employer/employee balance?” he asked.
Later during the committee proceedings Cormann pointed to the recent merger of the ARIA board with the various military superannuation schemes, and referred to unhappiness within Defence Force Welfare Association about inadequate representation for veterans on the ARIA board.
