Papers on Parliament No. 45
August 2006

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“The committee has been a light of reason over the years .... it is a matter of significant regret that the committee’s term is coming to an end”
—a representative of the superannuation industry

On 8 August 2005, the Department of the Senate held a seminar to acknowledge and examine the work of the Senate Select Committee on Superannuation which operatedduring the period 1991–2003. It is generally agreed that the committee made a very significant contribution to public policy in the field of superannuation and retirement incomes, and it was the principal aim of the seminar to try to identifywhat made it so effective.

The focus of the seminar was therefore not on the details of the committee’s output—its observations on and recommendations about superannuation—but rather on how it went about its work. It was more about process than about outcome.

Invitations to participate in the seminar were issued to former members and staff of the committee, representatives of the superannuation industry, staff of government departments and others who appeared before the committees as witnesses, Senate staff and interested academics. A list of participants at the seminar follows.

List of Seminar Participants

Chair: Dr John Uhr, Reader, Policy and Governance, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University, and former Senate Committee Secretary

Ms Jill Adams, Centre for Research in Public Sector Management, University of Canberra

Dr Michaela Anderson, Director, Policy and Research, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia [ASEA]

Mr Stewart Ashe, PhD Candidate, Australian National University

Dr Hazel Bateman, Centre for Pensions and Superannuation and School of Economics, University of New South Wales

Mr Leo Bator, Chief Executive Officer, ComSuper

Mr Scott Bennett, Parliamentary Library

Ms Sharon Bryant, Committee Office, House of Representatives

Mr Geoff Buckland, former Senator and Member of the Superannuation Committee

Ms Verona Burgess, Australian Financial Review

Mr John Carter, Senate Committee Office

Mr Bruce Childs, former Senator and Member of the Superannuation Committee

Mr Cleaver Elliott, Clerk Assistant (Procedure), Senate

Mr Harry Evans, Clerk of the Senate

Mr Richard Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer, Investment and Financial Services Association Ltd [IFSA], and former Secretary to the Superannuation Committee

Professor John Halligan, School of Public Administration, University of Canberra

Mr Brenton Holmes, Senior Clerk of Committees, Senate Committee Office

Mr Wayne Hooper, Director of Research, Department of the Senate

Mr Ross Jones, Deputy Chairman, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority [APRA]

Mr Peter Keele, Committee Office, House of Representatives; formerly Senior Clerk of Committees in the Senate

Dr Anthony Marinac, Senate Committee Office

Mr James Mathews, PhD Candidate, Australian National University

Mr Graham McDonald, Chairperson, Superannuation Complaints Tribunal [SCT]

Ms Sue Morton, former Secretary to the Superannuation Committee

Dr Diana Olsberg, Director, University of New South Wales Research Centre on Ageing & Retirement; Deputy Chair Unisuper; Part-time Member, Superannuation Complaints Tribunal [SCT]

Ms Susan Orchard, Superannuation Technical Consultant, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia [ICAA]

Senator Nick Sherry, former Chair and Member of the Superannuation Committee

Mr Ramani Venkatramani, General Manager, Specialised Institutions Division, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority [APRA]

Senator John Watson, former Chair and Member of the Superannuation Committee

Ms Sue West, former Senator and Member of the Superannuation Committee

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