Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025

Senator HENDERSON (Victoria) (09:01): I'm pleased to be in continuation on this very important private senator's bill, the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025. This is a bill that will make life fundamentally fairer for women, and I want to again congratulate Senator Hume on bringing this forward. I spoke on this bill the day after the budget was handed down.

In stark contrast to the stand that we took, Australians were hit with the news of this horrific budget that was handed down by this government, a budget of broken promises, higher taxes, more debt, lower living standards and fewer homes for all Australians, and things have just got worse. The deception and the lies have just got worse, because now we have seen in this place a dirty, rotten deal between the Albanese Labor government and the Greens, which is selling out all Australians, including Australian women.

This latest deal is to compromise those who have invested in self-managed super by preventing people from borrowing for the purposes of acquiring residential real estate. These are mum-and-dad investors. They're not the big foreign investors who've got the big tax concessions and can come into this country and get 10 or 15 per cent.

These are mum-and dad-investors, and many of them are women—women who've planned for their future, who've done the hard yards and who often have far less in their superannuation balances because they've taken time out of work to care for children and raise a family. Now we see another dirty, rotten deal which compromises anyone who thought that super was safe.

I have to say that, watching social media videos last night, I saw ordinary Australians and the rage that is in our community, because this is a government which said: 'We are not going to touch negative gearing, we're not going to touch capital gains tax, we're not going to interfere with your super and we're going to give you continuity in the laws that apply to your investments and your savings,' and the government, in a dirty, rotten, stinking deal, has done just the opposite.

Labor lied before the election, they betrayed Australians on budget night and they have now done a dangerous— The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Sorry, Senator Henderson. Senator Watt, on a point of order? Senator Watt: Senator Henderson just used a word that we know is not used in the chamber, beginning with l, and I ask her to withdraw.

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I'm sorry; I was distracted, which I should never be up here. But, Senator Henderson, for the benefit of the chamber, I would ask you to withdraw. Senator HENDERSON: I withdraw.

I want to quote from my speech, when I spoke on this bill last time and when I said: I cannot even believe that any Australian now has any confidence in anything that this— l, dot, dot, dot— government says. I wasn't, in fact, pulled up when I made that comment. So let me just say the Australian people won't cop the deception.

They won't cop the fact that women are being sold out by this government every single day. And we see it again in the dirty, rotten deal that was handed down last night. The coalition will axe Labor's toxic taxes.

Axing them means lower taxes: lower taxes on small business, lower taxes on housing, lower taxes on investment and lower taxes on Australians who work hard, save hard and want to get ahead. There is a better way—not betrayal, not deception, not the sleazy sneakiness that we've seen from this government. There is a better way for a fairer, freer and better Australia, and that includes our tax-back guarantee, which we've committed to—automatic tax cuts every year to address the bracket creep rort.

For a typical worker on $70,000, that means $250 in year 1, $500 in year 2, then $750, going to $1,000 in year 4. We will cap migration to the number of homes Australia actually builds. We are determined to fight these toxic taxes every step of the way.

When it comes to the superannuation savings of Australian women, again I want to say how important this bill is to continue the good work of the coalition in making and improving retirement outcomes, particularly for women, and making superannuation fairer and more flexible. Women need a much bigger hand of help than men because they have, on average, lower superannuation balances.

The idea that spouses have the option to split their collective superannuation balances evenly between them is a very fair and very exciting proposal for our country and for every Australian family. It sits in stark contrast to the shocking deal that was made in this place just yesterday, which will be pushed through the parliament, meaning anyone who's decided to invest in their own self-managed superannuation fund has now been sold up the river by the Albanese government.

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator O'Sullivan? Senator O'Sullivan: Mr Deputy President, I'd like to seek your clarification—maybe you can come back to the chamber or have the President do it—in relation to the use of the word 'lie'. My understanding is that there hasn't been a ruling in this chamber against the use of just that word.

Of course, under longstanding provisions, one shouldn't be accusing an individual, a member, a senator or anyone of any office of being a liar. But simply referring to a lie is not against the standing orders. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: As I said at the time, I was momentarily distracted and did not hear exactly what Senator Henderson said.

I asked her to withdraw, on the request of the minister. Senator Henderson withdrew, as she should have. I will move it on from there.

I will, however, refer the matter to the President, who happens to be in the chamber at this time, and get a definitive ruling on the use of language. But my belief is that what just occurred is as the Senate should operate. Senator O'Neill, are you seeking the call?