Peter Burgess, SMSF Association CEO, said Senator Cash was trying to have the controversial bill removed from the order, but with the defeat of that motion, the legislation will still remain on the list.

“The Senate does not support the bill and although there are still a few sitting days in late March, so in theory the government could still debate it, those days are usually reserved for budget-related matters,” Burgess said.

He added that if the polling is accurate, the election will see a minority Labor government, which will make it more difficult to get the bill passed.

“They won’t have the numbers in the lower house and will have to rely on the independents. And the debate will have to start from the beginning,” Burgess said.

“It’s time for the government to take this measure off the table and listen to the concerns.”

Furthermore, he said, the determination of the government in trying to pass the legislation seems to be focussed on the forecasted revenue it was expected to generate.

“It's now all about the revenue. There was a question from shadow treasurer Angus Taylor in Parliament earlier in the week about taxing unrealised capital gains,” Burgess added.

“The Treasurer replied that if the opposition was not going to approve this bill then they would have to figure out where they will get their revenue from. It’s disappointing that the main motivation to get this passed is revenue that is attached to it.”

Senator Cash accused the government and Greens of eyeing off Australia’s superannuation “pot” as government funds.

“You have the audacity to say to hard working Australians who go into work every day, they work hard, they are putting money away for their retirement, it's not your money, it's the Labor Party's money, and it's the Green Party money,” she said.

“And it doesn't matter how hard you worked, guess what? It's a pot of money, and we are going to take it from you.”

She added that although the government states the new tax will only affect 80,000 Australians, the Treasurer’s own department puts the figure at closer to 2 million Australians under the age of 25 who will be “slugged” by the tax.

“So, all those young people out there who might be thinking, ‘I'm going to vote Greens’, just remember, you will be working hard for many decades to come,” Cash said.

“You will be putting away money into your superannuation for your retirement. And guess what, there's not 80,000 of you. There is literally going to be one in 10 Australians the Labor Party and the Australian Greens are going after to take your hard earned money.”

Minister for Finance, senator Katy Gallagher, said the government would not support the suspension of the motion.

“Those opposite oppose superannuation every time, from its inception, where they voted against it, to now, when they continue to look at ways to undermine superannuation,” she said.

“They cannot stand working people having access to capital to fund their retirement. That's ultimately what this is about. You cannot bear it. You can't bear the size of the superannuation industry. You can't bear working people, particularly industry funds, actually having resources in this country, on behalf of their members.”

Greens senator Nick McKim said: “The Liberals have come in here today, and they are basically asking us to think about the bloated, tiny cohort of wealthy superannuants with balances over $3 million.”

“Well, the Greens are going to think of people who can't get their teeth fixed and get to the dentist. We're thinking of people who don't go to the GP, because they can't afford to see a doctor,” he said.

“And we're thinking of them because we believe big corporations and billionaires should be forced to pay their fair share of tax.”

At the conclusion of the debate, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie called the debate a “farce” and accused the government of trying to silence small business owners and farmers.

“This bill is not just going to affect some microcosm of Australians – it will affect every small business owner, every family farmer in this country,” she said.