More than 4 months ago, the Morrison Government received a report containing no recommendations, but which concluded that our retirement incomes system is in good shape.

The review concluded that “the system is effective, sound and its costs are broadly sustainable” and also validated the role of compulsory superannuation in helping millions of Australians enjoy better standards of living in their retirement.

Prime Minister Paul Keating promised a 12 per cent superannuation guarantee in the 1990s. Modelling indicated this would allow a comfortable retirement. However, subsequent Liberal prime ministers have backed away from this target rate. The first planned increase was delayed by John Howard and then Tony Abbott did the same thing. As a side note, both of these Liberal Prime Ministers justified delaying the increases so that wages could increase. However, Australian employees have never received the promised wage increases.

Before the 2019 election, Liberal Party Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised Australians that his government would increase the superannuation rate. However, the recent report appears to justify Australian workers’ fears that the Liberals will use it as a stalking horse for more cuts or delays to superannuation.

The Prime Minister should keep faith with the Australian people and now rule out cuts to the legislated increases in the superannuation guarantee.

The report’s conclusions about the wages-super trade-off just do not stand up to fair-dinkum scrutiny given wages were historically stagnant after the last time this Coalition Government froze the superannuation guarantee.

I stress again, every Liberal delay has been accompanied by the promise foregone increases in superannuation will be offset by wage rises. This has never happened.

The Retirement Income Review comes as the ACTU released new research finding that “the greatest cost” of a cut to the promised Superannuation Guarantee rise “will be a generation of Australians who will be forced to either work into their 70s in order to have sufficient savings in retirement, or live in poverty.”

The Liberals cannot be allowed to use this recession as an excuse for more cuts to retirement incomes.

All Australians need to know what they will lose if Scott Morrison backs away from his election commitment. Freezing the increases in the superannuation rate would strip the average family of up to $200,000 in super at retirement! Such amounts can provide a dignified retirement and improve the quality of life for so many.

Many Liberals are calling for this delay. They ask Australians to believe a vague promise that employers will convert the foregone superannuation to a boost in pay-packets. Does anyone believe this will work for the overwhelming majority of Australian workers? Twice bitten, thrice shy!

If the legislated rise in the superannuation guarantee does not go ahead, most will receive neither a nest-egg increase nor pay rise! An analysis of more than 8000 workplace agreements that were made following the last freeze in the super guarantee in 2013 found no evidence of compensating wage increases.

In these uncertain times, workers need the legislated increase in the Superannuation Guarantee to help rebuild their retirement balances and deserve a decent pension that allows older Australians to live with dignity.

Members ponder election results, brutal campaign

Annerley Branch members have both celebrated and commiserated on local election results which saw strong support for sitting MP, Mark Bailey and the sad loss of Jackie Trad, a progressive giant in the Queensland Parliament.

With election results now finalised, the Palaszczuk Labor Government has been returned to government with an increased majority – now 52 seats. The number of LNP seats in the new Parliament have been reduced, with One Nation the biggest losers, witnessing the loss of almost half their state-wide vote. Despite boasting massive gains, the Greens also failed to win their 7 seat haul and also saw a decline in their overall vote.

Locally, Mark Bailey held off a dishonest campaign from the Greens Party and a lacklustre fight from the LNP to record an impressive 5.6% swing. Interestingly, the local Greens Party vote in Miller went backwards, despite their claim of running their ‘biggest field campaign ever’ in the seat. Mark Bailey ensured that the government’s progressive record was communicated to the electors of Miller, who overwhelmingly expressed their support in return.

In the seat of South Brisbane, Jackie Trad fell to a combined campaign from the Greens Party and the LNP to unseat her. However, a disturbing trend out of that election campaign are the growing number of reports from people who witnessed intimidation, bullying and harassment from various Greens Party volunteers. Added to this outright display of ‘bovver boots’ activity, militants from the widely discredited ‘Extinction Rebellion’ cult also participated in what has been described as ‘outrageous and threatening’ behaviour ‘more suited to 1930s Germany’.

Branch members are currently compiling a list of instances of bad behaviour initiated by Greens Party volunteers to help document the alarming issue. It is also understood that a former Greens Party federal candidate has been recorded on video participating in the disgraceful polling day spectacle. As a result of this worrying behaviour, the Branch will be pushing for a code of conduct for campaign volunteers to be implemented and enforced by the Electoral Commission to ensure that bullying and intimidating actions are addressed more effectively.

Support for Kevin’s media diversity petition

The November general meeting of the Annerley Branch has recorded its clear support for former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s push for a Royal Commission into media diversity. Viewing the increasing negative impact on Australian democracy from foreign owned Newscorp, Branch members expressed concern that the political landscape had become ‘poisoned’ from the biased dominance of Murdoch-owned media outlets.

Mr Rudd’s e-petition received a record number of signatories and continues to gain traction in the community since being tabled in Parliament. On 11 November, the Senate referred an inquiry into the state of media diversity, independence and reliability in Australia to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee for report by 31 March 2021.

As a side issue to Mr Rudd’s petition, Branch members also supported an idea to ensure that petitions with more than 50,000 signatures and e-petitions with more than 100,000 signatures are debated in the federal Parliament. The suggestion is part of the Branch’s push for a more responsive democratic system to improve connections between elected representatives and their constituents.

National Platform under microscope

The Annerley Branch will be providing a written submission to the current review of the Party’s national platform, in lead up the ALP National Conference which is expected to be held during 2021. An extensive consultation process ends on 30 November, with members requested to raise suggested items and amendments for the new platform.

Many branch members have sought to ensure that policies for a more progressive tax system, better health and education services, a review of HECS, expanded Medicare, climate change action, social housing, better working conditions, timely processing of refugee requests and establishing a National Integrity Commission are firmly included in the revised platform.

Once submitted, the Annerley Branch will continue to lobby national conference delegates to support suggested changes to the platform.