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Every man, woman and their "working Australian" dog has had a say on superannuation today as details of Treasurer Wayne Swan's politically motivated policy announcements on super finally came to light.
After a week of front page news - even pushing North Korea's nuclear sabre rattling to page three - today's big super policy announcement came down to nought. Well, virtually nothing, especially when measured against the acres of newsprint devoted in the past week to "class war" speculation about what the big earners and the middle class had to fear from the Swan razor mob raiding super savings like a Cypriot government official desperate for cash.
So, today's primary announcement that earnings on pension incomes above $100,000 would be taxed at 15% concessional rates, when it came down to it, is what the press gallery would describe a damp squib.
The reactions
However, all sides of politics and special interest lobbyists have had a good poke - coming up with their own fruity language to describe today's announcement.
Leading from the front was the Australian Seniors, declaring it a good thing that Labor has 'come clean' on its intentions.
Industry lobbyists ASFA applauded the 'sensible outcome' citing the changes would remove the hysteria around super and bring some certainty to Australians about their retirement savings. The Greens called it a "super retreat" and reminded us that the taxation of mining companies was a better way to resolve Budget deficits, not taxing the retirements of ordinary workers.
Speaking of Budgets, Coalition shadow treasurer Joe Hockey called today's announcement another "confused and chaotic tax grab" - also highlighting the view that we should all wait a few more weeks for a second round of superannuation changes in the May Budget as Wayne Swan today refused to rule out further changes at his press conference.
What you need to know
Other changes announced today? As it is the unofficial year of decision by committee, we saw the formation of a "Council of Superannuation Custodians" to ensure that any future changes are consistent with an agreed Charter of Superannuation Adequacy and Sustainability.
"The Charter will be developed against the principles of certainty, adequacy, fairness and sustainability. The Charter will clearly outline the core objects, values and principles of the Australian superannuation system. The Council will be charged with assessing future policy against the Charter and providing a report to be tabled in Parliament," the announcement tells us.
And the contentious contributions cap for tax concessions? This cap was set by the Howard Government at $50,000, then halved by the Rudd/Gillard government to $25,000. Today, it goes back up by $10,000 to a cap of $35,000, unindexed for certain age groups.
Confused? Well, you are not alone. But that's super.
Super milestone? Almost 1,000 changes a year
A further milestone passed virtually unnoticed, but Australia's so-called world's best defined contribution superannuation system comes of age this year. It is now 21 years since the Hawke/Keating Labor government prescribed laws to direct employer funded contributions into the nest eggs of working Australians.
Like all who make their rite of passage into the big, bad world, super has had a fair share of changes in its short lifetime. Something like 20,000 changes to be exact since 1992.
And while such complexity is a great thing for financial planners and other tax and financial advisers, it does little to settle the collective nerves of the investing public.
Let's hope we get through the 21 year celebrations and the latest round of tinkering to super without the hangovers and headaches that comes from forcing the policy equivalent of a yard glass full of grog down our throats.
