Workers in dangerous industries deserve proper insurance to protect themselves and their families should anything go wrong.
 
Yet, once again, they’ve been left behind by this Government and its poorly-designed superannuation changes.
 
Worse still, Assistant Minister Jane Hume remains in hiding, still refusing talk to the industry about their very real concerns.
 
Not even her own backbenchers back her performance benchmarks.
 
She refused to address industry concerns about how her reforms will undermine investment in job-creating infrastructure.
 
No wonder CBUS Chief Executive Justin Arter is “disappointed” in Assistant Minister Hume’s total lack of communication about how the reforms will affect the construction industry.
 
Construction industry workers get tailor-made life insurance as part of construction industry super fund membership that takes into account the extra dangers they face at work.
 
Under the Government’s ill-considered stapling changes, new entrants into the construction industry would in most instances miss out on that specific insurance.
 
The least the Assistant Minister can do is swallow her political pride to and engage with the industry to address the glaring issues with her proposals.
 
Labor calls on her to release an exposure draft of the legislation of her reforms so industry, the opposition and her own colleagues can scrutinise the details.
 
Strongly performing funds are in everyone’s interest but intended consequences must be considered and properly discussed.
 
Fund members deserve to know what the Government has planned for them and the Assistant Minister should keep them in the dark no longer.