Within minutes of the formal deliberations commencing at the 50^th Australian Labor Party national conference in Adelaide on Thursday, the word “superannuation” was uttered.

In the first official item of business for the party faithful, a motion for the party to adopt a policy extending the superannuation guarantee to all Australians – including casual and shared economy workers and those aged under 18 – was carried.

Research from Rest Super (which has a large youth cohort among its membership) was cited during the proceedings and the fund welcomed the move, calling on the Albanese government to now pursue legislation of the party policy. ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty issued a statement that read: “If you’re working, you should get super, whether you’re 16 or 60”. 

Australia’s youngest-ever federal senator, TikTok sensation and South Australian Charlotte Walker, fittingly rose to second the motion. Another delegate said Labor was the “only political party in Australia dedicated to universal super”.

The claim is not technically accurate. The Greens actually proposed amendments in federal Parliament recently which would have extended the SG to these young and casual cohorts – amendments Labor counter-intuitively voted down in the interests of getting the payday super legislation passed.

But putting these political machinations and Canberra absurdities aside, the hallowed place super holds within the party’s history and folklore is without question and was made abundantly clear in public and private conversations at the conference. 

By the end of the first day, the author – who attended the conference as a “business observer” alongside Conexus Financial founder and managing director Colin Tate AM; Conexus Financial chair Geoff Lloyd; and The Conexus Institute executive director David Bell – had lost track of the number of times super was mentioned, alongside landmark Labor inventions such as Medicare. 

A more cynical reading would be that any move to extend super’s coverage also obviously increases funds under management. After all, the Labor Party conference has often voiced its support for yet another rise in the SG rate to 15 per cent. For context, academic studies, including by The Conexus Institute research fellow and ANU associate professor Geoff Warren, have found circa 9 per cent is probably sufficient for the purpose of retirement savings, meaning the debate likely has other motivations.

A more cynical reading still would point to the importance of industry’s super’s economic and political might for the trade union movement in an era of declining membership. Indeed, it is understood the “teen super” policy (as the Greens call it) was really the brainchild of Australian Services Union.

But clearly, compulsory super’s appeal is much broader than just the communities and coalitions represented at this conference. And for as long as Labor remains the country’s natural party of government, its preservation seems assured.

‘Tech bro dictatorship‘

Given super’s sacred role in Labor legend, it is ironic then that super funds have significant and growing exposure to AI and adjacent assets.

Animosity towards the swiftly developing technological megatrend was palpable, especially from union representatives. NSW senator and former Transport Workers Union boss Tony Sheldon – who, incidentally, is also a former trustee director of TWUSuper (now part of Team Super) – went on a barnstorming rant against perceived Silicon Valley overlords.

“We can’t let these tech bros dictate how AI should work for us,” Sheldon railed. “We all need to have a say … [and ensure] AI is held to account.”

Fear over the labour displacement threat of agentic AI and automation, as well as the environmental toll of AI-powering data centres (a major investment theme for institutional asset owners and private wealth advisers) featured prominently during proceedings. One union delegate called for any time saved by AI for an employer to be directly redeployed to staff for family time, recreation and respite.

The narrative reveals a tricky situation for a Labor government and big industry super funds alike. On the one hand, AI offers an unprecedented and much-needed jolt in the arm for economic productivity and by extension, investment returns.

But that economic growth may be at least in part caused by human resources redundancies and replacements, presenting a political threat to already diminished unions not to mention a possible social and humanitarian crisis.

Nowhere will this tension between capital and labour be more pronounced than in the financial services industry. Its leaders would be wise to keep their eye on the 51^st ALP national conference.

Aleks Vickovich is acting co-chief executive and editor-in-chief of Conexus Financial, publisher of Investment Magazine.