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Paul Keating rips into "greedy" Baby Boomers

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has decimated the greed of Baby Boomers, saying that his own generation would never ut up with the low wages, HECS debts and calls to raid their own super accounts for money in the current COVID-19 economy.

He has warned that low income younger workers have been asked to raid their own super accounts to the tune of $40 billion, which is around the same amount that the Morrison Government has spent to date on massive stimulus measures such as JobKeeper.

He made the statements in a briefing today organised by Industry Super that the legislated pay rise has already been factored into wage negotiations and must not be scrapped.

“You cannot have a decent income in retirement without self provision. Otherwise, you would have people on the pension which is now what $23,000 or $540 a week?,’’ he said.

“Take my generation, the Baby Boomers. They want everything yesterday and they want it doubled now. If there was no super they wouldn’t be wanting $23,000 they would be wanting $50,000 now.

“You look at these young people, I mean a lot of them are on low wages, they carry the HECS charge around their neck before they start, they have trouble accommodating themselves

“We are saying, ‘Oh, by the way you can look after the rest of us aged people.’ It’s just fanciful nonsense.”

Mr Keating said that if workers failed to save enough super, more will be forced to survive off the aged pension.

“Well. The thing is there’s no economic case for it not to go ahead. None. There’s a prejudicial case from some of these baby-faced Liberals,’’ he said.

“These first term senators, a particular modest form of political life.”

“Look, the thing is this. Anyone born in the 1970s, and I’ve got children born in the 1970s, will live now until 105 or 110,’’ he said.

“In other words if they save for 40 years from say 25 to 65, they will be relying on the savings for a further 40 years. This cannot happen with a pool of funds of 9.5 per cent it’s not large enough to do that.

“The argument for 12 is a very basic argument for adequacy. If we’ve got people living longer, what case is there possibly to not have 12 per cent?”

Mr Keating said he took the Prime Minister at his word that he was "no plans" to scrap the super increase, but warned the Liberal Party has never supported super.

“The Liberal Party has never liked mandatory superannuation. They’ve had to be dragged screaming,’’ he said.

Former Labor frontbencher and ACTU secretary Greg Combet said the business of allowing workers to raid their super accounts of nearly $40 billion has been a disaster.

“It’s been a free for all,’’ he said.

“That money has gone into the banks. That to me is all wrong,” he said.

“I just think it’s critical that on December 31 the early access scheme is terminated.”

Tags:
prime minister, paul keating, money, finances, coronavirus