Bills

Statutes Amendment (Superannuation) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 24 September 2014.)

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:15): I rise and indicate to the house that I will be the lead and only speaker on this Statutes Amendment (Superannuation) Bill. I understand that this bill includes a number of technical and non-controversial changes to the Police Superannuation Act 1990, the Southern State Superannuation Act 2009, the Superannuation Act 1988 and the Parliamentary Superannuation Act 1974.

Very briefly, the amendment to the Police Superannuation Act 1990 arises as a result of the latest SAPOL enterprise bargaining agreement, concluded in 2011, which provided for a flexibility allowance of 5 per cent of annual salary which, for superannuation purposes, would only be applied with a prospective effect. The amendment will prevent members from receiving a retrospective windfall gain in benefits, especially if the member has only received the allowance for a short period of time in comparison with the period of service. I understand that the Police Association supports this amendment.

The second act that this deals with is the Southern State Superannuation Act 2009. One amendment deals with formalising current practice amongst agencies where they have made superannuation guarantee payments to employees earning less than $450 per month, even though employees were not able to be members of the Southern State Superannuation Scheme. The amendment makes it clear that these members are members of the Southern State Superannuation Scheme. The second amendment allows for the exchange of data between state super and Southern State Superannuation.

The third aspect that this bill deals with is essentially amendments that allow the appropriate superannuation board to release a portion of a member's superannuation for the purpose of funding a division 293 tax debt incurred by the member. As I indicated before, the opposition will support this bill, as we do all sensible legislation put forward by this government, and we hope that by passing it this morning it will be able to progress and be put in place as soon as possible.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (12:18): I very much appreciate the contribution and support of the Leader of the Opposition.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (12:18): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.