Category Archives: Superannuation

Australia news live: more rain across flooded Queensland region brings ‘extended peak’

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Major flood warning issued in north-west Queensland after Burketown residents evacuated overnight. Follow the day’s news live

Control of submarines will remain with Australia: Courtney

Courtney appears confident that control of the submarines will remain with Australia, saying “no one wants to be in a situation where there is any conflict of who is in charge or who is giving orders or who is taking orders”.

We understand that that is precious for every nation, to be able to control and make their own decisions.

We have such a carve-out for Canada today. Again, the defence sectors are much more free-flowing and seamless because of the fact that we made that adjustment, and that is going to be a focus.

No one will be foisting off clunkers on good friends and allies.

We need to train up the Australian sailors and officers in terms of nuclear propulsion which is all we’re talking about here, not nuclear weapons. And when the time comes for the deeds, the title to be handed to the government of Australia of a vessel, that again is going to be totally with the full understanding that it is going to be under Australian control.

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Sydney trains delayed due to ‘communication issue’ – as it happened

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Facing up to financial distress

It is not just academic though – there have been increased reports of people feeling distressed because of financial pressures.

When people are under extreme financial pressure, that has implications for their wellbeing more broadly. I mean, I think that is understood. And I’m sure that the governor in accepting that meeting understands that.

What we want to do as government is make life a little bit easier for people where we can, whether it’s with energy bills, whether it’s with cheaper early childhood education, cheaper medicines, trying to get wages moving again, financial security is a big part of what we’re focused on, particularly when these cost-of-living pressures are so acute.

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Women earn $1m less than men over lifetime and retire with $136,000 less super, study finds

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Research adds to growing calls to pay more parental leave and for superannuation on paid parental leave

Women in Australia earn $1m less on average over their lifetimes than men and retire with $136,000 less in superannuation, according to research released on International Women’s Day.

The research by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, released on Wednesday, suggests that the biggest driver of the gap in retirement savings is still the gender pay gap.

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Labor hits back at Coalition attacks on super changes – as it happened

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Coalition will return ‘fiscal discipline’ to economy: Taylor

Taylor then outlines the Coalition’s basic pitch ahead of the next election: everything stays the same – and more austerity.

The first thing we will do when we get back into government is to re-establish the fiscal guard rails and the discipline that comes with it for ministers, bureaucrats and everybody. That is how you do this. Tax won’t be the focus. It will be making sure the economy grows faster than ever.

When it comes to tax, you describe all of the tax concessions as a hit list. Does that mean you think the system is perfect, nothing should ever be touched on tax?

No, we think the stage-three cuts need to go in place.

Is there any tax concession you would not touch?

Well, David, you asked about the fiscal guard rails. The key to this is to have budget balance as an objective in the budget. Labor has taken that out of the budget. As I said to you last time I was on this program, you need to make sure the economy grows faster than your spending. Now, Labor has taken these objective ace way. So they have lost all discipline.

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Greens to push Labor to fast-track 26 weeks of paid parental leave and pay superannuation on it

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Party joins chorus of super funds and crossbenchers who want to use government’s tax concessions bill to call for broader changes

The Greens will seek to push Labor to increase paid parental leave to 26 weeks sooner than planned and to pay superannuation on it through possible amendments to the government bill to reduce tax concessions for high super balances.

The Greens employment spokesperson, Senator Barbara Pocock, said women “shouldn’t have to wait” until 2026 for 26 weeks of paid parental leave (PPL), slamming Labor’s plan in the October budget to increase the entitlement by “a miserly two weeks year after year”.

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Asic sues Mercer Super for allegedly ‘greenwashing’ fossil fuel and gambling investments

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Corporate regulator claims the company misled members in a fund that promoted its sustainable credentials

Corporate pension fund Mercer Superannuation misled members by investing in coal and other fossil fuels, along with alcohol and gambling stocks, in a fund that promoted its sustainable credentials, the corporate regulator has alleged.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has started legal proceedings against Mercer in its first court action over alleged “greenwashing”, a term that describes misleading claims made about a product’s environmental and sustainable credentials.

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Almost 40% of superannuation tax concessions flow to top 10% of earners, tax statement shows

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers says analysis will ‘help increase public awareness and inform debate about the fairness and efficiency of the tax system’

Superannuation tax concessions are costing the budget $50bn a year, with almost 40% of the benefit of tax breaks on earnings flowing to the top 10% of income earners.

That is one of the central findings of the tax expenditures and income statement, released by the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on Tuesday.

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Albanese government lifts tax rate on superannuation balances over $3m

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The changes, which will not come into effect until 2025/26, will apply to around 80,000 people

The Albanese government will tax superannuation balances above $3m at a higher rate as it looks for opportunities to claw back revenue.

Currently, earnings from superannuation in the accumulation phase are taxed at a concessional rate of up to 15% and this will continue for those with balances below $3m.

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Liberal MPs break ranks to back Jim Chalmers’ discussion on superannuation reform

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Angus Taylor says Coalition will fight any changes but Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer says we should not ‘shy away from having a conversation’

Liberal moderates Russell Broadbent and Bridget Archer have broken ranks and endorsed the treasurer’s efforts to start a conversation about the fiscal sustainability of generous superannuation tax concessions.

Broadbent told the ABC on Monday it was unclear exactly what changes were being proposed but if the mooted overhaul was “fair and reasonable” then the Coalition should not stand in the way.

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Fans and stars farewell Olivia Newton-John – as it happened

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Actor and ‘cultural icon’ honoured in state memorial service at Hamer Hall. This blog is now closed

Independent MP Zali Steggall suggests Labor’s take on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is “greenwashing,” following the appearance of Chris Bowen, minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction, on ABC Insiders this morning.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended potential alterations to tax breaks on multimillion-dollar superannuation balances on Sky News this morning.

The fundamentals won’t change. The tax concessionality will still be there, but we do need to consider whether we can afford the degree of tax concessionality for people who’ve got very big balances.

I’m not interested in a war of words with John Howard. John Howard is someone who I respect and he deserves better than to be wheeled out to prop up Angus Taylor’s dodgy arguments or to shore up Peter Dutton’s failing leadership.

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Treasurer asks Australians ‘whether we can afford’ tax breaks on biggest superannuation balances

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Jim Chalmers defends potential change to super rules for balances over $3m as Coalition vows to oppose it

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended potential superannuation changes, asking Australians to consider “whether we can afford” to keep giving large tax concessions to the small number of wealthy people with multimillion dollar balances.

While insisting the Albanese government had made no firm decisions yet, Chalmers claimed it was “not especially controversial” to re-evaluate how tax concessions flowed to people with the highest super balances.

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Teal MPs say capping superannuation at $3m might undermine confidence in saving for retirement

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Despite this pushback, most crossbench MPs remain open to debate, and several independent senators have spoken in favour of curbing some super tax concessions to help budget repair

Independent MPs including Kylea Tink, Zoe Daniel and Zali Steggall have said that capping superannuation balances at $3m may undermine the confidence of people saving for retirement.

The teals have joined the Coalition in warning against capping, which appears to be the most likely measure to implement Labor’s objective for super to be “sustainable and equitable”, saying the government should look to raise revenue elsewhere, including company profits and tax evasion.

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Medibank records profit rise despite data breach – as it happened

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Husic refuses to comment on crossbench negotiations over coal and gas

Moving on from science and industry, Ed Husic is asked if the approval for Santos to expand its Queensland gas field has killed off the government’s negotiations with the Greens over the national reconstruction fund (which Husic has carriage of) and safeguards (where there is a little crossover with Husic, because of manufacturing).

I’m very grateful for their engagement, all the engagement from the crossbenchers, and I’ve sought to make myself as available as I possibly can to work through issues some stuff we agree on some stuff we don’t I would love to go into the ins and outs of it, but I’d rather private negotiations sort themselves out because they will obviously be made public very soon and people that rightly expect that to happen.

But, you know, I am grateful that some of those points that are raised because from our point of view, and I think you heard in the PM’s speech yesterday – we take a view as a government that we’re not the holders of all knowledge, that we do accept, accept and expect people to provide their input so that we can build a better outcome.

I think what we’ve tried to do as a government is say we’re going to make decisions in the way that they’re supposed to.

We don’t want decisions to be politicised. We want them to be done a national interest and there’ll be pathways to making decisions that will be quite separate. So the big thing coming to your question, the answer I would, I would give you is they’re separate things.

I want them [the public] to answer that question.

I want them to guide us in the way in which we shape research priorities into the future. The last time that we actually updated these national science and research priorities was in 2015, back when Malcolm Turnbull took over as prime minister, a lot has happened since then.

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Jim Chalmers signals cap on super balances to rein in tax concessions for wealthy

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The treasurer suggested that the small percentage of people with pots over $3m should not receive tax benefits, but prime minister more cautious

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has signalled the government could cap superannuation balances as part of efforts to rein in generous tax concessions that benefit Australia’s wealthiest retirees.

After starting the conversation on the “sustainability” of the super tax concessions on Monday, the debate has narrowed on the small percentage of superannuants with more than $3m in their retirement accounts.

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Greens and crossbench join Coalition to hand Labor first major defeat in parliament

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Senate blocks attempt to water down super funds’ transparency rules

The Greens and Senate crossbench have teamed up with the Coalition to hand the Albanese a major parliamentary defeat, disallowing its regulations watering down superannuation funds’ transparency.

The Greens joined the Senate revolt on Thursday, after warning earlier in the week it intended to help defeat Labor because the government backflipped on the unrelated issue of million-dollar fines for bankers.

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Superannuation tax breaks will cost budget $52bn, almost matching Australia’s age pension

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New analysis calls for major changes including restrictions on concessions as the country risks having ‘two classes of state-funded retirees’

Tax breaks for superannuation will cost the federal budget $52.5bn this financial year, almost as much as the aged pension, according to a new analysis.

A research paper by the Australia Institute argues that since super tax concessions cost almost as much as the $55.3bn spent on the pension, Australia has “two classes of state-funded retirees in Australia”.

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News live updates: Australian leaders react to Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation; Queensland braces for severe storms

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Student debt cut for teachers who go rural; WA to ban display and possession of Nazi symbols. Follow the day’s news live

Growing impact of climate disasters on mental health revealed

In case you missed it, a new poll commissioned by the Climate Council shows that four in five Australians have experienced some form of natural disaster at least once since 2019.

This coal cap scheme will see NSW doing our part at the request of the Albanese government to contribute to the national solution of this national problem.

I know those currently providing coal for the local market will appreciate that companies enjoying super profits on the back of the war in Ukraine will now do their part for the domestic market.

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Number of underperforming super funds reduced and fees cut under Coalition reforms, thinktank finds

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Grattan Institute urges Albanese government to retain strict criteria and annual performance tests

The Coalition’s last round of superannuation reforms has already reduced the number of underperforming funds and cut their fees by an average of 20%.

That is the conclusion of a Grattan Institute submission to the Albanese government’s review of the Your Future Your Super reforms, which urges it to retain a strict test for underperformance and improve the process for selecting default funds.

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Australia’s highest and lowest income suburbs: how does your postcode compare?

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Western Australia’s Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove the top-earning area while five of the lowest are in regional NSW

Australia’s highest and lowest income suburbs have been revealed in new data released by the Australian Taxation Office.

The data, based on nearly 15m tax returns from 2019-20, reveals the median income and super balances of Australians in each postcode across the country.

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Australian superannuation industry leaders to visit Indonesia to turbocharge business ties

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Former Labor frontbencher Greg Combet says group will examine viability of infrastructure investment opportunities as Australia tries to move past its reliance on China

Former Labor frontbencher and chair of IFM Investors Greg Combet will lead a high-powered delegation of leaders from the superannuation industry to Jakarta next month as part of efforts to turbocharge the economic relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

Combet has confirmed the group will examine the viability of investment opportunities in infrastructure on the back of a successful visit in June, when Anthony Albanese took a business delegation to Jakarta during his first visit to the country as prime minister.

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