Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Cameron for that question. While I have not got the release in front of me, I can confirm that he accurately quoted a small part of that release in isolation. I see him smile and laugh; he knows that is exactly what has happened. The truth is that increases in superannuation payments come out of wages and represent a cost to business. Everybody on this side of the chamber knows this.

What I have pointed out for a very long time is that Mr Shorten—the Leader of the Opposition, when he was the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation—kept saying, 'No, no, no. There are increases in compulsory super. They do not come out of business profits. They come out of people's wages.' He kept saying, 'We are going to go and put our hands into people's pockets. Increases in compulsory super come out of people's wages.' On 1 July 2015, under Mr Shorten's plan, people were going to get a 0.5 per cent pay cut in order to pay for the increase in compulsory super.

The important point here is that increases in compulsory super do not come out of thin air. They either come out of people's wages or they come out of the cost of doing business. By reducing the cost of doing business, we are enabling businesses across Australia to employ more Australians. Guess what? We inherited an economy growing below trend and rising unemployment from the Labor Party. We are working to turn that around. We are keen to ensure that we can grow a stronger economy and create more jobs on the back of stronger investment. Part of that is ensuring that businesses in Australia are more competitive internationally than what they have been in the past. The Senate's decision the other day was good for the national interest. If Labor is so opposed to it, why don't they promise to repeal it?