The government’s early release superannuation scheme has been embraced a little too eagerly, presenting problems for the sector, while tourism may be back — but only if you’re happy to travel from NSW or Victoria to New Zealand. Crikey takes a look at the latest virus news from around the country.
Super trouble
The Morrison government’s scheme to allow people to withdraw up to $20,000 from their superannuation account has presented a new set of challenges, with some running their accounts dry to stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis.
One-third of people accessing their nest eggs early were nearly half a million under-30s. The single largest group was between 30 and 36.
Men are withdrawing 40% more than women, making up 57% of requests. But women are likely to be hardest-hit because they typically retire with 47% less super than men.
Retirees have called for tax and income reform, and some organisations want a part-pension plan because many retirees have lost income while their assets — which determine pension income — remain the same.
Travel bubble bursts over Queensland
New Zealand is set to open its borders to New South Wales and Victoria faster than Queensland plans to, and federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham says the tourism industry needs to bounce back.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that the state would not be able to interfere with flights coming to and from New Zealand.
Palaszczuk has said Queensland’s border would stay closed until September, disappointing news for the 53% of Tourism and Transport Forum survey respondents who planned to visit the Gold Coast in the next six months.
Wuhan lab theory alive and well
The theory that COVID-19 emerged from a lab in Wuhan is still alive and well — scientists who support it say the virus’s ability to adapt to humans raises questions about its origin.
Professor Nikolai Petrovsky at Adelaide’s Flinders University says the lab theory has been too quickly dismissed.
Petrovsky, who founded the Adelaide company Vaxine, hopes to be the first to come up with a successful COVID-19 vaccine, with plans to run the first human trial in Australia.
App appeals to other countries
Several countries have approached the federal government about the troubled COVIDSafe app, which has had only six million downloads in Australia.
New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Peru and some US states are looking into a similar tech solution, which shares information about who comes into close contact with who to map the spread of the virus and warn users about the need to get tested and self-isolate.
“Big trouble ahead for those whose superannuation is now down and out”
This was never going to work. It was always just another planned nail in the coffin of poverty for desperate Australians caught up in the trap long set up for them.
“Petrovsky, who founded the Adelaide company Vaxine, hopes to be the first to come up with a successful COVID-19 vaccine ”
Oh good on him. Should make a fortune.
I am starting to become intrigued by the media’s systemic blind spot when it comes to gender issues. Your brief story on men withdrawing more of their super than women is another example. You write:
“Men are withdrawing 40% more than women, making up 57% of requests. But women are likely to be hardest-hit because they typically retire with 47% less super than men.”
This statement implies that men are being more irresponsible, and more responsible, but women as the hardest hit. But at no point did you attempt to consider that families that who were most affected financially by COVID would go to the husband’s super first, as the primary breadwinner. That being the case that explains why 40% more men are hitting their super, to be spent on the whole family. And the winner of this will be: women, whose super will continue to compound, where the man’s will not. Sometimes is not just facts that are needed, but also an acknowledgement of a bias in concepts.
Unlike your own bias? Women retire with far less super than men due to caring responsibilities and difficulties getting back into the workforce after having children. Women also earn less than men. So if they take out the $20,000 now it will disproportionately impact their super balance (less ability to ‘make it up’ later, less income to ‘make up’ the lost balance, less time in the workforce to do so etc). This is just simple maths, compounding interest etc. So the statement in the article is correct. Whereas your gender based assumption is just that – an assumption. As I haven’t read any metrics on what % of men/women who have families took out both or one earner’s $10K, its not possible to say providing for family is the motivator for men’s withdrawals. If the main ages are 30-36, they may not yet have children. Although I agree its a fair assumption, we need more data to prove that.
Interesting article by Petrovsky about the possible origin of the Covid virus. It does raise the interesting question of how the virus adapted so quickly to humans. I’m still highly skeptical that it came from the Wuhan lab and the only thing keeping me open to the possibility is that some Chinese authorities thought it was since they quickly destroyed lab cultures at the time. Nevertheless, with any evidence totally destroyed by now, it is doubtful we’ll ever know.
Cry me a river. All those well-off retirees, who structured their retirement income streams to cash in on the tax-free generosity of the Howard/Costello era, now crying poor.
Time to sell your assets, at recession prices, to the younger generations whose taxes have been subsidising your “self funded” super.
Totally on the mark, Norm. Anyone who is retired and owns their own home, let alone rents out their property to others, should keep their mouths shut. They are far ahead of the curve than the majority of the population.