One Nation has been accused of wanting to end Australia’s superannuation scheme after its leader suggested many workers would be better off having access to their money now.
The right-wing party’s leader, Pauline Hanson, described the compulsory retirement savings scheme as “broken” while building on a previous plan to allow people to raid superannuation funds for a home deposit.
“A lot of Australians are doing it tough now and struggling to pay off their mortgages,” she told News24 on Sunday.
“In some ways, I feel that you should give them their money now and … help them with the cost of living.
“It is their money; they’ve sacrificed it in lieu of pay.”
Senator Hanson suggested relaxing superannuation withdrawal rules should go further than an existing One Nation policy to allow people to make withdrawals to help fund a deposit to buy a home.
The coalition took a policy allowing first home buyers to withdraw up to 40 per cent of their superannuation balances to the 2022 election, which it lost.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers accused One Nation and the coalition of wanting to “destroy the superannuation system if they get the chance”.
“If any combination or coalition of the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation win the next election, it will be the end of compulsory super for workers,” he said.
“This is the single biggest threat to the superannuation system in four decades.”
Under the compulsory superannuation scheme, introduced by the Keating Labor government in 1992, employers must legally make minimum contributions to retirement savings funds on behalf of employees.
The current minimum payment rate is 12 per cent of a worker’s ordinary earnings.
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg on Wednesday used a National Press Club appearance to criticise the superannuation scheme, saying it had “stolen choice and agency from Australians”.
He went further in an interview the following day, describing compulsory superannuation as “one of the biggest public policy failures since federation”.
But Senator Bragg backed away from the comments on Sunday after criticism from his party leader and others for going beyond Liberal policies in various elements of his press club address.
Asked if he believed compulsory superannuation should not exist, the opposition housing spokesman said the coalition’s past policy of allowing access to funds for a home deposit was “still under review”.
“I’ve always been sceptical about whether or not this (superannuation) scheme is actually working for the country,” he told News24.
“We’re still looking at how we can get more people into houses with targeted demand-side solutions.”
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