Coalition senator for Western Australia Mathias Cormann pointed to new prime minister Kevin Rudd’s record, which included slashing the concessional contributions caps in his first Budget after winning the 2007 election.
“Last time Kevin Rudd was leader of the Labor Party before an election, he promised no changes to superannuation. ‘Not one jot, not one tittle’,” Mr Cormann said in a statement.
“He broke that promise immediately after the election. In his very first Budget as prime minister, he started the ramp-up in taxes on superannuation, which has led to almost $9 billion of tax increases on superannuation.”
Aside from lowering concessional contribution caps, Labor under Mr Rudd imposed cuts to government super co-contribution benefits for low-income earners, re-defining income and a range of other measures, Mr Cormann said.
“Even in his period in the wilderness, Kevin Rudd voted for every single Labor Party tax increase targeting people’s superannuation savings,” Mr Cormann said.
“Why should Australians saving for their retirement trust any promise Kevin Rudd makes to them in his second iteration as prime minister?
“Only the Coalition can be trusted not to make any unexpected detrimental changes to superannuation in the next term of parliament.”
