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

That statement by Ms Carnell is very astute and is entirely accurate. I absolutely stand by everything that the government has said in relation to these matters. The point is that employers who hire employees and workers consider the overall remuneration package. If you pay an employee more in super, you pay them less in wages. I do not know which part of that mathematical formula Senator Cameron does not understand. Perhaps in the union movement people do not understand these sorts of realities. If you are in business, you look at the total cost of employing a particular employee. You pay more on superannuation, you pay less on pre-retirement take-home pay. The Senate agreed with the government that—in the context of the mining tax repeal package that we have put forward and the amendments that the Senate was keen on—we needed to ensure that there were other adjustments to the superannuation arrangements. That means that people will end up with more money in their pocket prior to retirement than they otherwise would. (Time expired)