Superannuation inquiry stoush: witnesses accused of ‘willingness to obfuscate’

A Senate inquiry on the superannuation system that had to use a rarely used summons power to force Labor president Wayne Swan to appear as a witness has ended in a war of words.

Senator Andrew Bragg has called for another inquiry into the ‘sanctions available to the Senate where witnesses fail to act in good faith or do not answer questions’. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

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A Senate inquiry on the superannuation system that had to use a rarely employed summons power to force Labor president Wayne Swan to appear as a witness has ended in a war of words, with the Coalition accusing witnesses of a “persistent willingness to obfuscate”.

Liberal Senate committee chairman Andrew Bragg has called for another inquiry into the “sanctions available to the Senate where witnesses fail to act in good faith or do not answer questions”.

During the inquiry’s hearings, Senator Bragg compelled Mr Swan – also the chairman of industry super fund Cbus – to front up to the committee as a witness, where he was grilled over allegations Cbus had mishandled $20m of death and disability payouts.

Cbus chair Wayne Swan giving evidence to the inquiry via videolink in November. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

After Mr Swan’s appearance, Senator Bragg accused Mr Swan of providing “false or misleading evidence”, an accusation Cbus rejected.

“The fact that the summons power had to be used to compel a former treasurer of the commonwealth to attend a hearing shows a shocking state of affairs wherein standards are being eroded,” Senator Bragg wrote in the committee’s report.

“The Senate’s power was deployed in this case but it should not have been necessary. The many unanswered questions in this report were the subject of obfuscation for many months which is intolerable.”

Senator Bragg singled out Cbus and industry super fund peak body Super Members Council as having shown a “persistent willingness to obfuscate by providing incomplete and unhelpful answers”.

He said witnesses “undermined” the process by “concealing information by what appears to be an approach of running down the clock”. Labor senator Jess Walsh fired back in response, accusing the “Coalition-led Senate inquiry” of having “failed to make a single recommendation that would improve Australia’s retirement system”.

“The inquiry has been conducted in a manner that represents a concerning politicisation and targeting of one fund type in the superannuation sector, and of Australia’s broader financial services industry,” Senator Walsh said. She said Senator Bragg made “overstated claims about the lack of willingness of inquiry participants to participate and answer questions, and concerning allegations about individuals’ and organisations’ intentions”.