I rise to speak on the (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025, a very important bill being brought forward by Senator Hume, which is all about fairness to tackle one of the most persistent and unfair challenges in the super system: the gender super gap. This government says it cares about women. Well, if it cares about women, it will support this bill because this bill is about fairness. This bill is about giving women a leg-up—particularly those who have not worked for all of their adult life, because they were raising children and raising their families. It continues the very good work of the coalition in government to improve retirement outcomes and make superannuation fairer and more flexible, particularly for women and families.
Boy oh boy, I contrast this bill with the shocker of a budget handed down last night—a budget of broken promises, higher taxes, more debt, lower living standards and fewer homes for all Australians; a budget that cripples older Australians; a budget that is fundamentally unfair. It confirms that this incompetent prime minister is only interested in taxing Australians out of any sort of certain future, particularly for their retirement. What a disgrace at a time when older Australians and younger Australians need hope. They need incentives to invest in their future. This is an assault on aspiration. Already this morning, the airwaves, the newspapers and social media are full of people saying: ‘Why would I want to start up a business in this country? Why would I want to invest in this country? Why would I want to bank on this government when it does this to us?’
This shocking budget is in stark contrast to the gender super gap bill that we’re debating this morning, which is all about fairness and all about justice. It gives spouses the option to split their collective superannuation balances evenly between them on an ongoing annual basis. It makes the superannuation system fairer for women. It gives women confidence in their retirements, in their futures and in their families. It gives women the confidence to say: ‘Yes, I can properly take time off work to raise my children and stay at home. We don’t have to, as a family, both be working full time just to pay the bills and make ends meet.’ If this bill is passed, we will have a superannuation system that supports families.
Look at what families are enduring now in this country. Last night’s budget just made things so much tougher. It made things so much more difficult for families. The cost of living is killing families. You go to the supermarket, and people are walking around in a daze. They cannot believe the cost of food or the cost of bills. Electricity, gas and power are up
some 40 per cent, and now there’s this horrendous budget. I heard the Treasurer talking this morning about how debt is going down and how this is a responsible budget. What a joke. This budget confirms that Labor cannot manage money. We’re facing a decade of deficits worth $150 billion. We’re just about to go over $1 trillion in debt, and this budget confirms that we are heading towards $1.25 trillion of debt at a time when we are being hit with so much unfairness and so many broken promises on negative gearing and on capital gains tax, which is going to mean fewer houses delivered in this country. What a joke! This government is crippling young Australians. They have the same right to invest in their futures. At the very least, after what this government is doing to this country, this government could support this bill, because superannuation is fundamental to the security of every Australian.
I cannot even believe that any Australian now has any confidence in anything that this lying government says. How can anyone have confidence with the lies that we’ve heard from Labor, the lies left, right and centre? It is a shocking betrayal of Australians. This bill elevates women. This bill elevates families. This bill makes it fairer. This bill needs to be passed by this Senate. Superannuation balances— [time expired]