The treasurer, Scott Morrison, will release an exposure draft of the government’s superannuation policy on Wednesday but several contentious elements won’t be included because the policy is not yet settled.
Morrison confirmed on Sky News on Tuesday an exposure draft would be released ahead of parliament’s return next week and insisted the government’s policy would affect only 4% of superannuation account holders.
Morrison was asked whether this meant that 640,000 Australians would be worse off if the government was able to see off backbench resistance and legislate the package it proposed at the budget – and whether that figure was higher than it had initially forecast.
The treasurer dead-batted, saying the changes affected 4% of superannuation account holders “and in particular, when it comes to the $1.6m transfer balance cap and in particular the $500,000 lifetime cap, that figure is less than 100,000.”
“It is very rare for people to actually get themselves into a position in their retirement where they have $1.6m in their superannuation account,” he said.
Morrison said the exposure draft he would bring forward on Wednesday would not cover the entire package.
It would not, for example, cover the proposed $500,000 cap on after-tax contributions – the most contentious element of the package – which was still under internal negotiation.
The treasurer was confronted by the former prime minister Tony Abbott during a consultation session with backbenchers last Thursday. Abbott reportedly argued for the government to abandon the proposed cap on post-tax contributions.
Various alternatives to the $500,000 have been floated post-election, ranging from $750,000 to $1m.
“We will continue to work through some of the contentious items that have been part of this discussion but what we won’t walk away from is our commitment to arresting the debt and delivering the budget repair job,” Morrison said on Tuesday.
“What is important is we will keep the targeting on those where it is currently targeted, and we will ensure we are meeting the real problem.”
Senior Coalition sources appear confident a deal can be struck to address the concerns of backbenchers while maintaining the savings proposed at budget time.
