The Australian Labor Party and the Democrats have put forward positions on superannuation choice of fund which would not guarantee employees any choice of fund at all. The Government finds these positions totally unacceptable, and it will not agree to legislation which does not provide employees with a genuine right to choose.
It is evident that maintaining the choice of fund measure in the Bill would result in an unacceptable Bill and would also jeopardise the timely passage of other measures in the Bill, including the Savings Rebate.
The Government will excise the choice of fund measure from the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill No. 3 of 1998 and deal with choice as a separate Bill as soon as practicable. This will not affect the 1 July 1999 start date of choice for new employees.
The Government remains absolutely committed to providing Australian workers with the democratic right of choice of superannuation fund in a competitive and open market, and will continue to negotiate with other parties to achieve this objective.
Other measures contained in Taxation Laws Amendment Bill No. 3 of 1998 are unaffected.
26 May 1998
CONTACT:
Penny Farnsworth
(02) 6277 7360
(0419) 482 497