13 January

One of the first rules of political strategy is, if you want to do something unpopular, do something else that looks unrelated, but will achieve the same thing. The federal LNP despise superannuation, just as they do Medicare, but they know both are too popular to dismantle. With super, instead they’re trying to undermine it a piece at a time, first by letting people withdraw from it in the pandemic (‘it’s your money’, same strategy and slogan they used for the tax cuts, nobody noticed), now by making it optional for some to contribute to it at all. They know many will love that, more in the paypacket each week. Never mind the best way to boost wages would be to actually boost wages - not on your nelly! And why do they hate superannuation? Because union-based funds are both extremely successful, and packing increasing clout in big national decisions. Never before have working people held so much of the nation’s capital. That needs to be opposed at all costs.