August 17, 2026 — 11:19am
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has thrown down the gauntlet over compulsory superannuation, vowing to defend the scheme after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she wanted more Australians to be able to dip into their retirement savings early.
The $4.5 trillion sector – twice the size of the economy – is the largest source of private cash savings in Australia and is designed to alleviate pressure on the federal budget by enabling Australians to support themselves in retirement.
Pauline Hanson waded into the debate on Sunday after Andrew Bragg declared compulsory super a failed policy.Alex Ellinghausen
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg provoked the compulsory super stoush last week by declaring it “one of the biggest public policy failures since federation” and likening super for teens to super for cats and dogs.
Chalmers sounded the alarm on Monday, framing the debate as existential to Australians’ economic security and accusing his political opponents of seeking to destroy the system.
“The stakes are high at the next election for a whole range of reasons, and one of them now is the future of Australia’s world-leading compulsory superannuation system,” Chalmers said as he arrived at Parliament House.
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“The Liberals, the Nationals, and One Nation would end compulsory superannuation as we know it. Their policy and their ideology on super would absolutely decimate the economic security and retirement incomes of millions of Australian workers.
“They share a dangerous and divisive anti-worker, anti-super ideology, and if this plays out after the next election, Australian workers will be much worse off.”
Chalmers said the existing allowances for Australians to withdraw their super early were well considered and available for people in genuine hardship.
“For good reason, those arrangements are limited, and those arrangements are very focused.”
Liberal deputy Jane Hume accused the treasurer of “simply making things up”, saying her party would not touch the super guarantee.
“I think the treasurer has taken a leaf out of the Mad Men Don Draper book; if you don’t like what they’re saying about you, change the conversation. Can I make it very clear: the super guarantee is here to stay,” she told reporters in Canberra.
Hume said the Coalition would consider adopting an early access policy as it had in the past two election cycles, but tried to steer the focus onto housing policy.
“The biggest indicator of economic security in retirement isn’t how much superannuation you have; it’s whether you own a home. That’s why it’s so important that we allow Australians the opportunity to get into a home should they want to buy one. And to do that, we must increase supply,” she later told News24.
Hanson joined the fray on Sunday, arguing super “should be lightened up a bit” so Australians can withdraw money in times of crisis.
“In some ways, I feel that you should give them their money now and … help them with the cost of living. It is their money. They’ve sacrificed it in lieu of pay, so in a lot of cases people want it,” Hanson told News24.
Compulsory superannuation contributions are paid as part of an employee’s salary. However, Hanson suggested that people spent their super and still ended up on the aged pension.
“I think the whole system is broken,” she said.
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Hanson was forced to clarify her position in a post on social media, saying she was not calling for an end to compulsory super but that Australians “should be able to access their money more easily if they need it for a house, medical needs or other costs”.
One Nation treasury spokesman, Barnaby Joyce, said on Monday the existing exemptions allowing early access to retirement savings were not enough.
“What we’re saying is, rather than lose your house, how about you get access to the capacity to keep it, as it’s one of [your] most fundamental assets? There are a lot of people struggling with the cost of living,” Joyce told News24.
Asked where the line would be drawn for what constituted a crisis, Joyce said One Nation was still developing its policy.
Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie pointed out around 60,000 Australians facing financial hardship already withdrew from their super each year, but said it should not come to that.
“You shouldn’t be having to access your retirement savings to get through the normal financial issues of a week,” she told News24.
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Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners