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Senator KOVACIC (New South Wales) (16:40): I thank Senator Bragg for bringing forward this matter of public importance because it is incredibly important that we shine a light on the concerning relationships between industry super funds, their leadership and the Australian Labor Party, this government. It is concerning because of the absolute lack of regulatory enforcement that we see with respect to industry super funds. I thank Senator Bragg for the work he does to draw attention to these disturbing facts. What was discovered at Senate estimates was of significant concern. Every worker with funds in one of these funds, particularly Cbus, should understand what is actually going on. We need to be very conscious of this government's attempts to protect their mates running industry super funds and the funds' habit of using their members' money for the political gain of the ALP.
Cbus is the only super fund to have committed its members' money to Labor's Housing Australia Future Fund. Who from Cbus announced this decision? It was Mr Wayne Swan, the former Labor Treasurer of Australia, former Deputy Prime Minister, current National President of the ALP and chair of Cbus. This is the same Cbus that currently remains under the ownership of the disgraced CFMEU. This is despite the CFMEU being put into administration by this parliament. We all remember the government being dragged, somewhat kicking and screaming, to support it. But the CFMEU's 21 per cent stake in Cbus still remains as well as their three board seats. Think about that. Let's reinforce that: despite being in administration, they have three board seats. That's not quite in line with basic governance, in my view.
Now we have heard that ASIC is alleging Cbus failed to properly administer and pay insurance claims for bereaved families. This isn't a small AUM fund; this is a massive fund with massive resources failing to pay insurance claims for bereaved families on time. This super fund is the same one that has been a key adviser to the government on its housing policy. It's no wonder this government has built a grand total of zero homes in a housing crisis. Like most things this government has done, it sets up bureaucracy after bureaucracy to sustain rent seekers in the trade union movement and in the industry super sector. Cbus has sat on a paid advisory committee to consult the government on the HAFF legislation, something that was only uncovered under FOI. Again they are the only super fund to have committed their members' money to the HAFF. This is despite the serious allegations of criminal behaviour and misconduct in the CFMEU. They are the same bodies that have brought on a 30 per cent increase in construction costs. That's according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. These are the same people that have compounded the housing crisis, and now, despite all of these veritable red flags, the government seems to think that these are the same people that can solve the problem that they had their hands in creating. This is in spite of significant evidence to the contrary.
In 2023-24 we saw the lowest homebuilding commencements in over a decade, down 8.8 per cent and far below the level under the coalition government. But, if anything, Cbus's sensational appearance at Senate estimates really highlighted the operational dysfunction at Cbus head office. We saw an attempt to evade the committee, and they were constantly rejecting invitations to appear. Then, at the eleventh hour, they decided to appear, and the testimony was shocking to say the least. The CEO, Mr Kristian Fok, revealed that Wayne Swan, the chair, makes announcements about housing investments without the CEO's knowledge. And, when asked about documents discovered under FOI showing communications between Mr Swan and the Treasurer, Mr Fok sensationally revealed that he had no knowledge of these discussions. The CEO was unaware of communications between his chair and the Treasurer of Australia, an oversight perhaps. But it's an oversight that Australia's workers continue to— (Time expired)
