Federal Election 2016: Julie Bishop vows super explanation

Julie Bishop will seek to head off a revolt over the super changes among her own Liberal Party branch members.

28/06/2016 Foreign Minister Julie Bishop campaigns with Matt O'Sullivan, the Liberal candidate for the new seat of Burt in Selville Grove, Perth's southern suburbs. Colin Murty The Australian

Julie Bishop will seek to head off a revolt over the government’s superannuation changes among her own Liberal Party branch members, promising today to explain the policies to those supporters who are angry about the hit to their retirement savings.

The Australian revealed today that the Curtin division of the Liberal Party — the wealthiest and most powerful in Western Australia — had passed a motion condemning the Coalition’s changes to superannuation.

The motion means the issue will be debated at the Liberal Party’s state conference in August and will put pressure on Ms Bishop, the Curtin MP and Liberal deputy leader, to defend the changes.

Asked about the backlash today, Ms Bishop said she planned to explain to Liberal members in Curtin that most would be unaffected by the moves.

“I will be sitting down with those branch members and advising them of the changes and that 96 per cent of superannuants will either be better off or not affected,” she said.

“And so I will be able to go through the particular circumstance with each branch member and I am sure that they will see that what we are seeking to do is maintain integrity in our superannuation system, make it fairer and ensure that it is fit for its intended purpose — that is for retirement income.

“It is not a tax minimisation scheme, it is not an estate planning scheme, it’s to ensure that people have retirement income or a supplement to the aged pension.

The Institute of Public Affairs think tank has claimed the number of people affected would be far higher than 4 per cent of the population and has criticised the government for being unable to explain its policy.

The Curtin division is the most influential in WA and boasts about 1000 members across Perth’s wealthiest suburbs, including Claremont, Cottesloe, Dalkeith, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove and Subiaco.

Under the super changes, the government will cap tax-free retirement accounts at $1.6 million and introduce a $500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions as well as cutbacks to the transition to ­retirement scheme.

Ms Bishop holds Curtin with a margin of 18.2 per cent, making it the safest seat in WA.