Over fluffy omelettes and stacks of smoked salmon, flanked by captains of industry in the private residence of one of Australia’s wealthiest men, Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed a historic victory for the labour movement.

“The way that we see it is the super wars have largely been won,” the new Labor treasurer told the annual Superannuation Lending Roundtable on Monday morning, referring to the now-bipartisan agreement that superannuation should be compulsory and the guaranteed rate is going to 12 per cent by 2025.