Finance minister Penny Wong and assistant treasurer Bill Shorten say legislation to increase superannuation contributions to 12 per cent from nine per cent will be passed.

“I’m very confident,” said Shorten in an interview after Prime Minister’s Julia Gillard’s August 31 speech on superannuation.

Wong, who also accompanied Gillard, said she expects legislation to be introduced for 12 per cent superannuation this year.

Passage of 12 per cent superannuation was “very important” to the current Labor government.

She said global market volatility was a “concern”.

But “Australia’s economy is in a much better position than many others because its fundamentals are sound,” said Wong. “Banks are also sound.”