Senator BERNARDI (10:55 AM) —The coalition will not be supporting this amendment, and not only for the reasons that Senator Sherry has outlined to do with the increased regulatory impact, the compliance burdens and the potential to deter people from taking up these accounts. I approach this from its purer form, I have to say, Senator Ludlam. Anything we can do in this country to support a culture of savings and encourage people to defer immediate gratification in support of a longer term goal I think is a very positive thing given the current economic environment and the ongoing challenges that the Australian economy is going to face as the population ages. We need people to take more responsibility for themselves.

Quite frankly, there is a reasonable limit of $5,000 on the contributions that can be made into this scheme and these accounts. I understand that some people will be able to afford to put $5,000 in and some people will not be able to afford to put $5,000 in, but, no matter what the circumstances, any money that people are putting away, I think, is a positive; and I think that should be encouraged from our perspective. I recognise your commitment to ensuring that this a fair and equitable process and I commend you on that, but I think that in this circumstance we need to have an entire approach across our community to encourage everyone to save as much as they possibly can and put aside for their own future.