THE Senate Select Committee on Superannuation has been re-instated with a new agenda, after the Democrats urged it be reformed to examine whether the tax arrangements of Australia’s superannuation system are adequate.
The faces on the committee are unchanged except for the departure of Labor Senator Stephen Conroy from the sitting committee to take up the post of shadow minister for finance, small business and financial services. He has been replaced by opposition deputy whip, Senator Geoffrey Buckland, from South Australia.
Re-elected chairman of the committee Senator John Watson says the Democrats have set the committee two issues to examine: the matter of adequacy of the superannuation system, and how the system ties in with the aged and health care needs of Australia.
The committee will also deal with numerous submissions from the public that have accumulated from the last time the senators met.
Many industry pundits are, however, sceptical about whether the Government will be willing to make changes to the tax system to boost adequacy.
For his part, Watson says: “It’s a good issue because the assumptions about people’s working patterns have changed, plus people are living longer. However, super should not be viewed as a social security net. I don’t think the Government will review the policy [making any changes] along the lines of super being a safety net.”
