When Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on national television that he was seriously worried about the coalition and One Nation influencing the superannuation industry, Jeremy Cordeaux’s response on this Garage edition of the Court of Public Opinion was immediate: you are worried about the wrong threat entirely.
The Wrong Thing To Fear
Jeremy could not follow the logic. Chalmers, he said, stood there last Wednesday night and declared himself alarmed at the prospect of the coalition and One Nation influencing the roughly $4.5 trillion superannuation industry. Yet the Treasurer voiced no equivalent worry, Jeremy noted, about that same money sitting close to the trade union movement.
I don’t know where your values are, Jeremy said, addressing the Treasurer directly, before answering his own question. Of course, he added, the unions are Labor’s bosses. Whatever one makes of that, the selective nature of the concern was, to Jeremy, revealing.
Eyes On The Money
Beneath the politics, Jeremy returned to a warning he has issued before: he firmly believes Labor has its eye on that money. The super pool is simply too large, and the government too short of cash, for it to be left alone.
The evidence, in his telling, is already visible. The government is trying to influence superannuation companies to invest in green energy. Yet a little research, he said, shows only about 1 per cent of super money currently goes into renewables, because these funds are judged on results and performance, and renewables are simply too risky, even with huge government subsidies.
The Cost Of The Push
Jeremy tied it back to the hip pocket. The government, he said, has poured some $22 billion into what he called net zero clean-energy schemes, our money, while claiming it cannot afford to reinstate the health insurance rebate for the over-65s. We don’t have money just lying around, he quoted, with heavy irony. It makes no sense.
And the renewables push, he argued, has not delivered the promised savings. Since Labor came to power with its renewables policy, he said, the cost of electricity has gone up, a figure he put in the billions and urged listeners to look up for themselves.
A Question Of Trust
For Jeremy, the heart of the matter was trust. I don’t trust this government, he said, not to lean on the superannuation industry to fund its relentless renewables push. A Treasurer worried about the wrong influence, while his own side sits closest to the money, does nothing to ease that suspicion.
His message to listeners was to watch the super debate closely. When the people in charge of the country’s finances start voicing selective worries about who controls a $4.5 trillion pool, Jeremy argued, ordinary Australians with money in that pool are entitled to ask exactly whose interests are really being protected.
Listen To The Full Episode
Catch the complete Garage edition of The Court of Public Opinion, recorded live around the dining room table.
Watch The Full Episode
The Court of Public Opinion streams live every Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (ACST), right here at jeremycordeaux.com. Download the podcast anytime on your favourite podcast app, and join the conversation with your calls and comments.
