Barefoot Investor's blunt message over fears Albo will raid Aussie super accounts: 'Hands off'

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:01, 26 July 2026 | Updated: 02:27, 26 July 2026 The Barefoot Investor has fired a warning shot at Anthony Albanese after the Prime Minister described Australia's $4.5trillion superannuation pool as a 'national asset'. In a fiery column, Scott Pape said worried readers had flooded his inbox over fears some politicians could seek greater influence over how retirement savings are invested. 'It's our bloody money, Albo. Keep your hands off it,' he wrote in his column in the Daily Telegraph. Albanese has floated the federal government using Australia's vast superannuation pool to help tackle major national challenges, including housing, productivity and the clean energy transition. 'There is a real potential to see these funds as a national asset that can be used more appropriately and get better returns as well, not just for individuals and for retirees, but for the nation,' Albanese said at the Superannuation Lending Roundtable earlier this month.  Industry groups and opposition figures have seized on Albanese's remarks amid fears governments could pressure super funds to direct more money into projects favoured by Canberra.  'Look, I get it. Australia has a productivity problem,' Pape wrote. 'Our living standards have suffered one of the sharpest falls on record. Albo wants to kickstart things, and he's eyeing off the $4.5trillion sitting in super to help. In a fiery column, finance guru Scott Pape (pictured) said worried readers had flooded his inbox over fears some politicians could seek greater influence over their super 'He's seen what happens when governments with big money pick winners. Just look at China. Back in 2001 they decided EVs were the future.  'They bankrolled the whole lot. Today they make nearly 75 per cent of the world's electric cars.  'The best of them charge in five minutes, drive themselves while simultaneously massaging your butt, and leave you with change from $50,000.' Pape said the idea was problematic, arguing Australia's governments had a poor track record when it came to major nation-building projects citing Snowy Hydro 2.0 as an example. 'Neither side can dig a bloody hole. The Liberals sold it to us at $2billion. Labor's now spent ten times that, years late, and they still haven't finished digging the hole,' he said. 'After twenty-odd years watching "can't miss" ideas turn to dust, I don't trust governments with our money.  'Come to think of it, I don't trust the industry super funds either, who jet round the globe buying airports and toll roads and glass towers nobody can put an honest price on.'  Pape is not alone in his concerns. Several economists and superannuation experts have also warned against governments attempting to steer retirement savings towards specific sectors or projects.  Anthony Albanese has floated the federal government using Australia's vast superannuation pool to help tackle major national challenges, including housing, productivity and the clean energy transition UNSW Professor Scott Donald said Albanese reportedly urged attendees – including the chief executives of several major super funds and banks – to invest more of their members' funds in Australia, in particular business lending to fuel growth. 'We can use our national super pool to address some of our biggest challenges. But forcing funds to invest it in particular projects or sectors is problematic,' he wrote in The Conversation. 'There was immediate pushback in the room, with Westpac's chief executive Anthony Miller reportedly telling the prime minister: 'don't touch the super complex, don't direct it, don't tell it where to go'. 'The superannuation sector and others have long raised concerns that being forced to invest their members' funds in a particular way risks distorting capital markets (and therefore the economy as a whole).' AMP chief economist Shane Oliver has also warned against any government influence over investment choices. 'Super funds should be left to decide what is the best investment strategy for their members,' he told news.com.au. 'They are accountable and having governments direct them would be a big mistake.' Pape said he was happy to stick with a 'boring' super strategy rather than leave his retirement savings at the mercy of politicians and ambitious nation-building projects.  The Snowy Hydro project (pictured) has been plagued by cost blowouts and delays 'My super is invested in a slice of the biggest companies in the world through a low-cost index fund. No private jets. No mystery airports,' he wrote. 'Just my money, priced every single day on the share market where I can see it.'