Australia has such a strong superannuation system that the country has no need for a sovereign wealth fund, according to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Gillard told a Financial Services Council breakfast in Sydney she believed superannuation is “already our trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund – but with market benefits”.
“That’s because it’s privately managed by thousands of trustees instead of a sovereign wealth fund managed centrally by a Canberra-appointed manager,” she said.
“Or alternatively, you could say that Australia has 8 million sovereign wealth funds – the superannuation accounts of Australians across the country.”
Gillard said these were the very same superannuation accounts the Government wanted to make massive injections into, but this was something that could not be achieved without the implementation of a Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT).
“We can only get to 12 per cent by 2020 if we use part of the proceeds of the MRRT to mitigate the lost revenue incurred by taxing super at concessional rates,” she said.
Elsewhere in her speech, the Prime Minister closely aligned the Government’s Future of Financial Advice legislation to its broader superannuation agenda, and said she expected the bill would be introduced to the Parliament “later this spring”.
