Senate economics committee chair outlines goals

Senator Jess Walsh has been appointed as chair of the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, stating her goals include increasing the Superannuation Guarantee to 15% and making super payable on paid parental leave.

Walsh had been a Senator for Victoria since 2019 and a Labor MP since 2005.

She said the Labor party felt superannuation was one of Australia’s greatest strengths and that the system had been let down during the previous Government.

“In this [chair] role, I look forward to delivering our Government's plan for an economy that works for people, not the other way around.

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“That plan includes strengthening our super system making sure super is paid to workers preferably at the same time as their wages, ensuring the ATO can and does crack down on dodgy employers with urgency and with force, getting the super guarantee to 12% and once it does, we're looking at whether and when we should aim for 15% and finding the best way to make super payable on paid parental leave.”

Walsh also used her speech to highlight the issue of superannuation theft by employers which saw workers lose $5 billion per year.

“The Auditor General found that the ATO is failure to proactively enforce superannuation compliance means that it is workers themselves who are relied on to do all the heavy lifting, with the largest portion of recovered superannuation resulting from workers reporting a problem themselves to the ATO.

“They are still likely to have to fight for months or years to be paid what they are owed, and their employers aren't even slightly deterred from doing it all again to the next worker.

“The Opposition gladly sat back for almost a decade while employers stole their workers super to get ahead.”