Stephen Jones stumbles through trainwreck parliament performance on superannuation

Jim Chalmer’s deputy has stumbled through a trainwreck performance in parliament where he was mocked for failing to answer straight questions about super.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones was under siege during Question Time on Thursday after waffling through Wednesday’s session.

The opposition identified the junior minister as a ‘weak link’ in Anthony Albanese’s team after he struggled to succinctly explain the government’s superannuation changes.

So on Thursday he was peppered with six questions about technical aspects of the plan to halve tax concessions from 15 to 30 per cent on Australians with more than $3 million in their super fund.

Mr Jones’ answers were mostly an improvement on Wednesday’s, though at one point a staffer had to get a note run into the chamber to help him.

However, he stumbled when asked if he could identify any act of parliament with a provision to impose a tax on unrealised gains.

‘The object of our change is the ensure we maintain the integrity of our superannuation system. we will ensure as we implement our reforms to the superannuation scheme we will have…’ he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was unimpressed with Mr Jones’ waffling and heckled him from his seat.

‘Can this guy answer a straight question? He doesn’t have a clue… if he doesn’t know, take it on notice,’ he said.

Speaker Milton Dick cut Mr Jones off, warning him he was asked a very specific question and needed to stick to answering it. 

‘This is a new reform, there is no doubt about it, and it is absolutely true that we are doing things in a different way…’ he continued, before Mr Dutton rose to complain.

The opposition leader again demanded Mr Jones answer the question, but was told to sit down as Mr Dick already told the assistant treasurer to stay on topic seconds earlier.

Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts called out ‘well done, Dutts’ to Mr Dutton and was immediately kicked out of the chamber.

Mr Jones eventually said the answer was corporations tax.

But the trainwreck Question Time continued soon after when Mr Jones was asked ‘whether the capital gains tax discount ordinarily applicable for assets held within superannuation is available for either realised or unrealised gains under the government’s new super tax?’

He tried to dodge the question by arguing ‘as a nonlicensed financial advisor, I can’t give financial advice either… here or anywhere else’.

An exasperated Mr Dutton interrupted for a point of order, which was really an excuse to stick the boot in to Mr Jones.

‘I have been here 22 years, I thought I had heard it all,’ he said, before being told offf by Mr Dick.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was unimpressed with Mr Jones’ waffling and heckled him from his seat

The past two Question Times, held in the absence of the prime minister who is on a tour of India, have been called some of the worst of all time by observers.

The opposition has relentlessly attacked Mr Albanese’s plan to cut tax concessions for Australians with super funds of more than $3 million.

A poll showed two-thirds of voters support the changes, which would tax super contributions at 30 per cent for about 80,000 Australians instead of 15 per cent.

Many questions have posed hypotheticals about how the changes could affect various groups, recently focusing on Australians who own their business through their superannuation fund.

Mr Dutton claims Labor is pursuing a ‘socialist’ agenda with its changes to superannuation and leading Australia to a ‘dark place’.

He accused Mr Albanese’s government of a cash grab against ‘aspirational Australians who’ve worked all their lives’.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers dismissed Mr Dutton’s ‘ridiculous scare campaign’ as ‘hyperventilating hyperbole’ that made him worse than disgraced ex-PM Scott Morrison.