Australia must better harness its huge pool of superannuation assets to drive investment in nation-building infrastructure, ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver told the ACTU Investment Forum in Sydney today.
Mr Oliver told the conference that Australia faces an estimated 'infrastructure investment gap' of around $700 billion over the next decade, which could cost more than $1.2 trillion in lost GDP and mean hundreds of thousands of workers would miss out on jobs.
Mr Oliver said that Australia's superannuation guarantee system is a world leader, but the potential of superannuation as a source of investment in infrastructure for a more productive economy remains untapped, he says.
"We as a country have one of the largest pools of superannuation assets in the world - and yet we cannot fund the infrastructures we need," Mr Oliver said.
"Superannuation should be playing a key role in helping to bridge the gap between what governments can afford and what we badly need to help generate more growth, jobs and wealth.
This will require challenging and innovative thinking by super funds and government.
Industry and Innovation Minister Greg Combet will also address the ACTU Investment Forum, along with former Reserve Board Governor Bernie Fraser will address the conference this afternoon.
Dave Oliver's full speech can be found here
For more information please contact:
Rebecca Tucker ph (03) 9664 7359 or 0408 031 269 or rtucker@actu.org.au