Once again Labor’s Shadow Spokesman for Retirement Incomes, Senator Nick Sherry, has been forced to rehash his old super hobby horses in a sad attempt to be relevant in the superannuation debate, Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Senator Helen Coonan said.
“All Senator Sherry did today was ‘reannounce’ measures the former Opposition Leader Simon Crean released in November last year. After eight years Senator Sherry still hasn’t produced a complete and costed superannuation policy.
“He prefers the Labor staple of ‘wait and see’ or deferring to the lone-ranger himself, Opposition Leader Mark Latham, to make haphazard and contradictory statements about what Labor would do with the national nest-egg.
“The Government’s reforms contained in the Superannuation Safety Amendment Bill 2003 will enhance the safety of superannuation savings in Australia by significantly strengthening the prudential framework for superannuation. It builds on the detailed findings of the Superannuation Working Group.
“The Bill introduces a requirement for all super trustees
regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to be licensed.
“This builds on the Government’s requirement for employers to report
quarterly on superannuation guarantee contributions made to employees and financial
assistance arrangements already in place to compensate people who have lost
their super through fraudulent conduct or theft.
“Senator Sherry’s time and energies would be better spent supporting Government policy initiatives to strengthen the super system rather than reannouncing rehashed Labor ideas.”
Labor’s November Announcement: http://www.alp.org.au/media/1103/20006428.html