Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
Doorstop – Martin Place, Sydney
14 November 2024
TOPICS: Labour force figures, cost of living, Cbus Super
Senator Cash
Well, the labour force figures for October have just been released, and yet again, they show incredibly concerning signs for all Australians. The unemployment rate, whilst it has remained steady, the number of hours worked, yet again, has increased, and what this clearly shows is more and more Australians, because of the Albanese government’s cost of living crisis, are either having to take on an additional job, or alternatively, in their current job, they’re actually having to work for more hours. And this is because it doesn’t matter where you go. Australians understand that they cannot afford life under Labor. It just happens to be a fact, and it doesn’t matter what the Labor Party says, that the policies that they have put in place have directly contributed to a higher cost of living for all Australians. You just need to go to a shopping centre and you talk to people as they come out, and what they say to you is this: the bag of shopping that I have bought has just got smaller, but the cost that I am paying has increased. And again, that is reflected today in the labour force figures, which clearly show the number of hours worked in October, has increased. And that Is because mum and dads around Australia cannot afford life under Labor. And it doesn’t matter how the Labor Party spin it – it is a fact that in the time that they have been in office, real wages for Australians have gone backwards by 2.6 per cent. Every time the Prime Minister or the relevant Minister stands up and says, they have got wages moving in this country. They cannot spin it any other way than the fact under the Albanese government, wages in Australia have gone backwards by 2.6%. And mum and dads feel that every single day when they walk into a shopping centre. But what you’ve also seen concerningly under Labor, and this is now reflected in the comments, coming from all leading economists, but in particular in the research that has been released by the AI Group – the jobs growth in Australia is being fuelled by this government creating more public service positions, and also in the government funded sectors. And the leading economists and the research by the AI Group show that in the private sector, you are not seeing the jobs grow, and that is what you want in Australia. Australia needs a healthy private sector, and this government, quite frankly, it has given up. It has given up on putting in place policies that would encourage private sector jobs growth, and they are focusing on increasing the size of the public sector. That is not a long-term strategy for Australia.
Journalist
So do you think Cbus – the Cbus case, highlights systemic issues in the superannuation industry, and should they be allowed to outsource claims?
Senator Cash
These are incredibly serious allegations that have been made, and they need to be fully investigated. But what also it shows is a complete disregard for their members money. It happens to be a fact that it’s your money, your super and yet that is not reflected in the allegations that have been made. We have made it very, very clear these serious allegations, they need to be investigated. But more than that, the Albanese government needs to tell Australians – we have two more sitting weeks for this year in the Parliament – what legislation they will urgently bring in to tighten the government’s arrangements in relation to industry superannuation funds. We will support them. We will work with them to tighten these governance arrangements. But what I also note is this, when we were last in government, the coalition brought forward a piece of legislation that would have ensured that registered organizations were, by law, only able to spend their money on benefits that directly benefited the workers. And do you know what the Labor Party did back then? They opposed us every single step of the way. This is not a government that is serious about accountability. These are serious allegations in relation to Cbus. They must be investigated. But more than that, the Albanese government needs to bring forward legislation that will tighten the governance arrangements in relation to these superannuation problems. And they need to do this urgently.
Journalist
Do you have an idea exactly what should be done, what that you know, what that would look like?
Senator Cash
Well, in particular, you need to ensure that the money is expended only for the benefit of members, that anything that needs to be paid out is paid out in an appropriate time frame. But again, this is all about your money, your super you have a superannuation fund that is in charge of a member’s money. They should only be allowed to use that money directly for the benefit of that particular person or their member. And as I said, we tried this for registered organizations, when we were last in government. The Labor opposition refused to support it. They need to get serious. They talk a big game when it comes to accountability. Well, guess what? We have two sitting weeks left for this year. What legislation will they bring in to tighten the arrangements in relation to these rules. We have said we will work with the government, but they are the government. They are able to draft the legislation and bring it forward. And to date, we’ve heard nothing from them, which is not unsurprising,
Journalist
Is the government making decisions that help private sector job growth?
Senator Cash
You have a government that literally is making policy decisions that discourage private sector jobs growth, and they are prioritizing the decisions that they make to increase their public service. That just happens to be a fact. Again, all of the leading economists and the AI Group research that has just been released show a that is a fact. But more than that, unless you have a strong private sector and strong jobs growth in the private sector, you will ultimately have an economy that stalls and that’s where we’re heading under Labor.
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