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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-02 Daily Xml
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Statutes Amendment (Fund Selection and Other Superannuation Matters) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 3 December 2020.)

The Hon. C. BONAROS (17:31): I rise for the final time today to speak on the Statutes Amendment (Fund Selection and Other Superannuation Matters) Bill 2020, and in so doing commend to Treasurer on his commonsense approach to amending the current legislative regime. South Australia is the last jurisdiction blocking choice of super fund for public sector employees. I have spoken about this issue before in this place when I introduced a private member's bill that also deals with super fund selection, and I am actually rapt that the Treasurer thought it was a good enough proposal for the government to adopt.

The shortcomings of the current system in failing to accommodate for individuals' choice when it comes to their super simply do not make sense at all. Forcing workers to save money in super and then denying them any control over how it is managed is nonsensical. I know that many people are waiting in the wings, anxious for freedom of choice.

I have been keeping constituents who asked for this bill updated on developments as I have become aware of them, and I thank the Treasurer for keeping me in the loop. I think he has done an extraordinarily good job at trying to keep us updated at every step of what has been an extraordinarily complex process in terms of navigating this piece of legislation. It has been an enormous task of stakeholder engagement undertaken behind the scenes, but I think that that work means we can all be confident that the bill has both overwhelming support in terms of industry and stakeholder groups and is very well drafted.

Super SA is keen to grow as a modern and competitive fund by expanding its membership with a limited public offer. The fund will also be able to attract further contributions from existing members, such as healthcare workers who may be employed in both the public and private sectors, for example. This will ensure the sustainability of the fund going forward. Similarly, the shackles will be removed for members under the new portability rules, with members free to transfer their super benefits and make future contributions to another eligible fund of their choosing.

Members will have the freedom to make their own choices by weighing up factors most important or applicable to them. I have personally spoken to a public sector employee who would like his super invested in a fund that gives primary consideration to the environment and environmental factors when choosing where to invest. This is not available to him at the moment. There are many more, just like him, asking for more power to choose where their super is invested, according to their own individual circumstances. I have also been contacted by constituents requiring clarification in relation to self-managed super funds.

I would ask the Treasurer to confirm this, but I am pleased to confirm that we have been assured, earlier today in fact, that as long as the fund that the person is looking at is a complying, regulated fund, contributions can be made directly to that. So there is no limitation in terms of self-managed super funds other than that requirement for the other fund to be a regulated fund. As I have said before, this is absolutely a win-win for both Super SA and public sector employees.

A couple of points that honourable members might want to be aware of: police and ambulance workers unions did raise concerns during the consultation process, not because of any opposition to the bill but rather because of insurance issues. There was a concern that if they left their fund they would no longer have the benefit of insurance protection that they currently get under the state-based super scheme.

Again, we have managed to find a resolution to that issue and a resolution that suits the police and ambulance workers unions, and they have confirmed that they are happy with that. There is an exemption via regulations for these higher risk members. They will nevertheless be able to reap the benefits of portability by transferring some of their balances into another fund, should they choose to. They might do this once a year, keep a $20,000 balance in Super SA and transfer or port the rest of their super into their choice of fund. So we have dealt with the issue on behalf of those two groups that we had concerns about.

One of the other issues that no doubt we will hear more about from the opposition is this notion of constitutional protection. Concerns have been raised, I understand predominantly by the opposition, in relation to constitutional protection, and we have sought lengthy details from the government and from the department about ensuring that we are not doing anything here to compromise that constitutional protection. The very firm advice—and I understand the government has Crown law advice on this, which they will no doubt share with us—is that nothing in this bill increases the risk of our constitutional protection. There is nothing in this bill that puts that protection at risk.

There is always a risk when it comes to constitutional protection. We are not inserting or removing any provisions that heighten that risk in any way. That is the firm advice we have had in relation to this bill. There is confirmation that members will continue to benefit tax wise from the fund being treated as property of the Crown with the passing of this bill.

I will not speak any longer on this at this stage. We can confirm some of these things when we get to the committee stage debate. But I would like once again to thank the Treasurer for his very thorough consultation on the bill in working towards our common goal of ensuring South Australians will no longer be dudded when it comes to their super choice and to thank all those individuals in the background who have done a mountain of work to ensure that this bill sees the light of day and that we move forward, as every other jurisdiction has done in Australia. With those words, I look forward to the smooth passage of this bill through this place.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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