For many years I had recognised the need for independent, evidence-based and non-partisan research in superannuation and retirement policy, leading to the creation of The Conexus Institute, a not-for-profit think-tank philanthropically funded by Conexus Financial.

On its fifth birthday, the rationale behind its establishment is truer than ever. This important policy area has become not just a bone of contention between the two major parties in Australia but a political football being used to grandstand and score points against the other side.

The Coalition seems to be hellbent on undermining the principle of preservation by allowing people to draw on their retirement savings to buy a first home. And it is well-known in political circles that many Coalition MPs would love to go further and dismantle the compulsory super system – even though the opposition’s current super spokesman Luke Howarth denied as much at our Advice Policy Summit in Canberra last week.

Meanwhile, the Labor side of politics – with which, I have often publicly disclosed, I have some personal affinity – has been hesitant to embrace criticism of the system they created and unwilling to accept the reality that many industry super funds do not have sufficient operational infrastructure and processes to compete for customers as global financial institutions.

Outgoing Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones and Treasurer Jim Chalmers deserve credit for announcing new mandatory service standards for the sector, buoyed by Conexus Financial research in collaboration with CoreData Research which found widespread poor member experience and retirement preparedness, especially in big profit-to-member mega-funds.