Bob Katter throws support behind treasurer's proposed superannuation reforms

Treasurer Jim Chalmers ignited a war of words last week when he suggested a "national conversation" on superannuation concessions needed to take place.

With budget repair top of mind for Dr Chalmers, the treasurer alluded to tweaks to tax breaks on super as a possible revenue-boosting venture.

These concessions, which include a flat 15 per cent tax rate on contributions in the accumulation phase and tax-free investment earnings in the retirement phase, were introduced to encourage people to save more money for their post-work years.

But there's an argument that these concessions disproportionately benefit the wealthy and are being used to minimise tax and pass on accumulated wealth to their children, exacerbating intergenerational inequality.

Australian National University tax expert Robert Breunig said that the focus of reforming super tax concessions should be on fairness rather than budget repair.

"Are superannuation tax concessions, a good idea? Yeah. Are the ones we have now overly generous? On average, I would say no. But are they as fair as they could be? I would say no," he told AAP.

The potential reforms were met with criticism from the opposition, however, the Greens and key independents in the senate have expressed a willingness to discuss changes to prevent tax avoidance.

Bob Katter also sided with the government, saying he supported restricting withdrawals or "early access" to ensure balances remained for retirement.

"I strongly back the Government's initiative here otherwise there is going to be no money for people when they retire," Mr Katter said.

Mr Katter said he wanted the majority of superannuation contributions to go into government guaranteed securities where people will know where it will be when they retire.

"When it was first introduced, 60 per cent of all superannuation went into government securities.

"So your rail lines into the mines were built with that superannuation money, the power lines - all government guaranteed.

Mr Katter said superannuation money could instead be invested in shovel-ready nation-building projects.

"We should also be investing in facilities that turn urban waste into fuel through the process of pyrolysis, and investing in grain and sugar mills which would produce ethanol.

"We can switch from fossil fuels to renewables, and with these alternative forms of fuel, we'll be filling up at the petrol station for $1.29, the same as they do in Brazil."

With Australian Associated Press