3 years ago
WAITING FOR SUPER REFORMS IS HURTING VULNERABLE FAMILIES
STEPHEN JONES MP
Women and children at risk of family violence should not have to wait another day for the Government to make good on its promises to help them escape.
For three years the Liberals have promised to make Australian Tax Office data on superannuation accounts visible during separation proceedings.
For three years they failed to deliver, despite a blizzard of reannouncements.
Without these reforms, spouses can continue to hide their super assets and skip out of a fair financial settlement.
This situation has already disadvantaged thousands of women, who typically have half the super of their spouses or no super at all.
Six Ministers have now promised to make ATO data available in proceedings and all have failed to follow through.
Current Minister for Women’s Economic Security Jane Hume is the latest to tell vulnerable women she will get the scheme up and running.
But her pledge to get it done by the middle of the year is looking like yet another letdown.
There is no draft legislation and nothing to suggest the Government is ready to move on this simple but important reform.
Financial dependence is the number one reason why many women stay in abusive relationships.
They cannot afford to wait any longer for the Government to get off its hands and do what it promised three years ago.
For three years the Liberals have promised to make Australian Tax Office data on superannuation accounts visible during separation proceedings.
For three years they failed to deliver, despite a blizzard of reannouncements.
Without these reforms, spouses can continue to hide their super assets and skip out of a fair financial settlement.
This situation has already disadvantaged thousands of women, who typically have half the super of their spouses or no super at all.
Six Ministers have now promised to make ATO data available in proceedings and all have failed to follow through.
Current Minister for Women’s Economic Security Jane Hume is the latest to tell vulnerable women she will get the scheme up and running.
But her pledge to get it done by the middle of the year is looking like yet another letdown.
There is no draft legislation and nothing to suggest the Government is ready to move on this simple but important reform.
Financial dependence is the number one reason why many women stay in abusive relationships.
They cannot afford to wait any longer for the Government to get off its hands and do what it promised three years ago.