‘Bitchy Liberals’: Paul Keating slams push to delay superannuation rise

Former prime minister Paul Keating says a bunch of “little bitchy Liberals” aren’t playing fair and are trying to “knock off” people’s incomes.

Former prime minister Paul Keating has hit out at a growing push to delay an increase to superannuation contributions.

Over the next five years, contributions paid into workers’ superannuation funds are legislated to increase from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent.

Liberal backbenchers and the Reserve Bank governor Phillip Lowe are warning against the legislated rise, saying it would come at the cost of future wage growth.

But Mr Keating told ABC RN that businesses could afford the 0.5 per cent rise on July 1 next year.

“(Superannuation) is a structural change, it’s not a cyclical policy, it’s not you take it down when things are crook and you lift it up when things are good,” he said.

Paul Keating says superannuation can keep the economy ticking over. Picture: Nikki Short

“What the Government should be doing is getting all of the Labor movement, all of the superannuation industry, tugging along, putting money into investments, infrastructure, aged care.

“Instead of that, what have we got? We’ve got a bunch of little bitchy Liberals trying to knock off 2.5 per cent off people’s income for the rest of their lives.”

Mr Keating said politicians, ministers and parliamentarians get 15.6 per cent superannuation, while ordinary working people get 9.5 per cent.

He accused the politicians of having “no sense of fairness” and refused to accept economists’ arguments that the legislated rise should be delayed.

“You want superannuation tugging away at this economy now,” he said.