Speaking to SMSF Adviser, Peter Burgess, the CEO of the SMSF Association, said it’s time for the government to take this measure off the table.

“The Senate does not support the bill,” Burgess said.

He suggested the government’s determination to have the bill pass centres on the forecasted budget revenue it was expected to generate.

“It's now all about the revenue,” Burgess said, adding that a conversation in parliament this week between the Treasurer and his shadow revealed that if the bills fail, an alternative revenue source will need to be found.

“There was a question from shadow treasurer Angus Taylor in Parliament earlier in the week about taxing unrealised capital gains. 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,” Burgess said.

In presenting the motion for dismissal, Senator Cash accused the government and the Greens of eyeing 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.

“’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 said the new tax would only impact some 80,000 Australians, Treasury figures suggested that number would be much larger.

“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,” Senator 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.”

On the opposite side of the aisle, Minister for Finance, Katy Gallagher, accused the opposition of attempting to undermine the system.

“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,” Minister Gallagher 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.