Morrison maintains focus on super governance

The Federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison has chosen to focus on changes to superannuation fund governance and choice of fund in fleeting references to superannuation in what was today billed as a headland speech on Government economic policy.

In an address to a Bloomberg forum in Sydney, Morrison maintained the Government's mantra of Budget repair and suggested that the first test for the Federal Opposition would be whether it supported the savings contained in the Government's omnibus legislation expected to be introduced early in the new Parliament.

However on the question of superannuation, the Treasurer steered clear of referencing the current negotiations around the Government's budget changes and instead reinforced its broader governance and choice of fund agenda.

"This year's budget reforms to superannuation were driven by Murray's call to make concessions fit for purpose," he said.

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"The Government is working to deliver improved governance of superannuation funds and greater choice for consumers in selecting their funds."

Late yesterday, the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer effectively rebuffed policy suggestions outlined by the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, claiming Labor's policy would be "bad for women, bad for carers, and bad for contractors and small businesses".

Shorten's move on superannuation has also received the thumbs down from the Self-Managed Superannuation Funds Association (SMSF Association) with its chief executive, Andrea Slattery, stating the proposals were a step in the wrong direction, particularly with respect to the carry forward of unused concessional contribution caps, the removal of the "work test" for people aged 65 to 74, and the abolition of the "10 per cent rule" for personal deductible superannuation contributions.

"The SMSF Association believes the Labor Party's suggested policy to oppose these Budget measures is a shift in the wrong direction for our superannuation system," she said. In circumstances where the Government is going to battle to get its Budget changes to superannuation through both houses of the new Parliament, O'Dwyer made clear that Shorten's address to the National Press Club had created no common ground on the key policy issues.

"By failing to back our changes on allowing catch-up concessional super contributions; harmonisation of contribution rules for those aged 65 to 74 and extending tax deductions for personal super contributions, Labor have demonstrated a lack of understanding of the real changes in working patterns that have been occurring in our economy and our communities," she said.

"Labor's urge to axe the Government's catch-up contributions provision, which would benefit around 220,000 individuals with balances less than $500,000 are denied the flexibility to boost their super savings.

"Labor's proposal to prevent the harmonisation of contribution rules will prevent older Australians from more readily contributing to their super. And Labor's opposition to the Government's tax deduction measures would prevent 800,000 contractors, and non-unionised workers, getting the same deductions as everybody else," the minister said. For its part, the SMSF Association found some merit in the Labor Party's proposal to lower the Division 293 tax threshold to $200,000 from the Government's proposed $250,000 threshold in order to fund change to the non-concessional contribution lifetime cap, with Slattery saying it deserves further consideration and the Association will take time to consider the impact of this proposed policy.