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Treasurer holds line on superannuation changes

Mr Morrison isn't budging.

Mr Morrison isn't budging. Photo: AAP

Treasurer Scott Morrison has taken aim at critics of the government’s superannuation changes, accusing them of wanting to saddle Australia’s children with more debt.

The government plans to limit lifetime non-concessional superannuation contributions to $500,000 and cap at $1.6 million the amount someone can transfer into a tax-free retirement account, but the Treasurer is under pressure from coalition MPs not to be so heavy-handed.

Asked whether the $500,000 threshold could be lifted to $750,000 or be kept the same but made prospective, Mr Morrison said those advocating such a shift needed to find up to an extra $500 million in budget savings to make up the difference.

“I would find it pretty hard to look my kids in the eye and tell them they have got to saddle a higher debt because someone who had a very big income wanted to pay less tax,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio on Monday.

Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher urged the government to circulate the draft laws so a process of negotiation could begin.

“We’ve got a Treasurer racing around trying to make compromises … [but] in the interests of good superannuation reform the government needs to bring forward the package of legislation and talk to the Labor Party about it,” Senator Gallagher told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

The issue is likely to get an airing when the Labor caucus and coalition joint parties meet on August 29.

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