Labor steady on super for five years Freeze ... Labor will hold super changes if it wins re-election. A re-elected Labor government would quarantine changes to the taxation of superannuation for five years, Treasurer Chris Bowen has announced. The announcement is a win for the super industry, which has been calling for super to be left untouched for up to 10 years - an idea previously dismissed as unrealistic by Australia's first superannuation minister, Nick Sherry. But Labor on Wednesday said it would make no changes to the taxation of super before the election, and it would legislate the five-year freeze if it won the election. "Australians are living longer, they need to feel that the superannuation system is fair and reasonable and that the superannuation policy is removed from the political cycles for genuine confidence in the system to build," Mr Bowen said in a press release. But the five-year freeze proposal was immediately criticised by the Coalition, with superannuation spokesman Mathias Cormann saying Labor was "trying to play catch-up with [the] Coalition on our commitment to no unexpected detrimental changes to super." The industry recently criticised the Coalition for its plans to defer the increase in the super guarantee to 12 per cent by two years. Alex Dunnin, director of research at superannuation research firm Rainmaker group, said the announcement showed "how sensitive the government is on the issue." Trouble is, I'm not sure if anyone will believe him [Bowen] especially as it seems to be a proposal for a law that will stop government changing the law. The government and parts of the super industry engaged in a public brawl over Labor's plan to curb tax concessions on super for high income earners earlier this year. One-time superannuation minister Mr Sherry argued last month that no government would quarantine an important sector, such as super, from reform. Now a senior adviser at Citi and Ernst & Young, Mr Sherry said: "I don't think it matters who is in power, no government is going to say, 'We are going to put away superannuation and retirement funds policy and have no change for five to 10 years.'" Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees chief executive officer Tom Garcia on Wednesday said the proposal would "allow time for the industry and other stakeholders to carefully assess and debate the future policy changes that may be necessary to ensure our super system is sustainable and equitable over the long term." But Gavan Ord, Business Policy Adviser at CPA Australia, said the accounting body was "not so excited by the announcement as it will put pressure for further changes to personal and company tax - as the GST is also off the table - to make up for government revenue shortfalls." Further, are we absolutely satisfied with the super system as it stands? Five years is a long time before substantial reforms can be pursued. And waiting five years makes reform harder as behaviour becomes more entrenched," he said. Super had a bumper year 2013 financial year, with the average balanced fund returning 15.6 per cent. Returns are closely watched as baby boomers retire. The median super fund has grown by 10.5 per cent since the depth of the financial crisis.