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Lawyer says committee is super
A lawyer appointed to a Federal Government committee on superannuation has hit back at critics who have labeled it as un-representative.Maurice Blackburn superannuation and insurance claims…
Lawyers Weekly
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A lawyer appointed to a Federal Government committee on superannuation has hit back at critics who have labeled it as un-representative.
Maurice Blackburn superannuation and insurance claims practice group leader John Berrill was one of 15 appointees to the Stronger Super Peak Consultative Group announced earlier this month by Bill Shorten, the minister for financial services and superannuation.
"I think I know what consumers want and don't want and know and don't know about superannuation well," Berrill said.
He said the make-up of the committee, which will be chaired by Paul Costello and includes Freehills consultant Peggy Haines and representatives from Choice, the ACTU, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASPA) and Financial Services Council, covers all the major players.
"There are representatives from ASPA, representatives from the key superannuation bodies, and it is not your traditional employee vs employer dynamic," he said, mentioning the consumer representatives including himself, the representative from Choice and delegate from the National Seniors Association. "There are people representing super fund members as a whole from the peak super bodies."
Earlier this week (21 February), Money Management took aim at the group for including no members from leading financial planning organisations.
The group met for the first time last week, and is due to meet on a further four occasions before the end of May.
Shorten formed the group in order to assist the government in developing its policy response to the Cooper Review of superannuation released in July last year. The review recommended a number of reforms to the superannuation industry in an attempt to cut super fees by up to 40 per cent.
"I am keen to see the recommendations of the Cooper Review and the government response to be implemented as quickly and efficiently as possible," Berrill said.
Berrill assisted Choice with its submission to the Cooper Review.
The group will include consultative sub-groups that will address MySuper, governance, self-managed superannuation funds and SuperStream.
