Hanson poses the super question Australia stopped asking
by Michael Read · Australian Financial ReviewMichael ReadDeputy economics editor
Sep 11, 2026 – 4.00pm
There is something strange about the way Australians talk about superannuation. For a policy that compels workers to put aside 12 per cent of their pay packet for decades, there is little room to debate whether the system is working as well as it could. Suggesting any change to the design triggers a political furore and scare campaign from vested interests.
“There’s something about super that makes people hysterical, and there’s just seemingly no ability for us to thrash these ideas out in a considered policy debate because it is so deeply ideological and political,” observes superannuation expert Emily Millane, a senior fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School.
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Michael ReadDeputy economics editorMichael Read is deputy economics editor, reporting from Parliament House, Canberra. He joined the Financial Review in 2021 from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Reach Michael securely @michaelread.14 on Signal. Email Michael at michael.read@afr.com
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