Opposition assistant treasury spokesman Mathias Cormann has challenged Bill Shorten to deliver legislation that provides choice and competition in the superannuation default fund market before the commencement date for the no-frills super product, MySuper.
In his address to the 2012 Financial Services Council conference yesterday, Cormann issued the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation with the challenge to introduce reform that provides "genuine choice and competition" before the 1 July 2013.
"If minister Shorten fails to act before the next election a coalition government would act immediately to fix this issue up after the next election," Cormann said.
"A future coalition government will act decisively to rebuild confidence in our super system."
If elected, the coalition government will work with all stakeholders to ensure it has the "most transparent, efficient and competitive superannuation system possible", he said.
More specifically, Cormann said the coalition plans to improve the sector are superannuation governance by implementing a series of corporate governance reforms recommended by the Cooper Review.
It also plans to work with the industry and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to develop a series of industry-wide standard definitions and performance benchmarks to make it easier for consumers to properly compare super funds.
The coalition intends to also develop an appropriate process to make sure that Australians are not "unfairly penalised" for genuine unintended errors when making superannuation contributions.
Cormann said cutting "red tape" and streamlining employer superannuation reporting is also on the coalition's agenda.
"We are currently having some discussions with the FSC in particular on how that can best be done," he said.
As well as touching on the changes a coalition government could make to Australia's superannuation sector, Cormann said, if elected, the coalition is committed to "fixing" the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms.
"In government therefore the coalition will fix FOFA by implementing all of the 16 recommendations we made as part of the Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry into this legislation," he said.
"If we are elected at the next election, we will be in a position to move quickly on this."
As well as issuing Shorten the superannuation challenge, Cormann called on the Minister to implement recommendations contained in the Johnson Report.
"The coalition continues to support the principles of the Johnson Report recommendations, just as we have supported other initiatives in government and in opposition that help to build the strength and success of the Australian financial services sector," Cormann said.
"Yet the government has been very slow to act - delaying the opportunity for stronger growth in the Australian financial services sector.
"An Australian government genuinely committed to helping make Australia into a financial services hub for the region would be more focused on implementing the Johnson recommendations in a more timely fashion," Cormann said.
"I guess that is my second challenge to Bill Shorten today to go back to those recommendations and to recommit himself to implement those recommendations in a timely fashion."
Cormann said the coalition will provide the financial services industry with some "regulatory certainty" and the ability to get on with growing their business without the constant threat of "new taxes, more red tape and more uncertainty".
"When change is needed we will consult widely with all relevant stakeholders to make sure we get things right and that any changes make things better - not just more complex, less efficient and more expensive for everyone," he said.
"We will implement any changes in realistic time frames and we will provide certainty for industry and consumers by finalising legislation and regulations well in advance of start dates so industry is in a position where you can properly implement any changes.
"We will not be a government that is a road block or a barrier to your success."
