Taxing rich alone won't fix budget: Hockey

Treasurer Joe Hockey says the nation won't return to surplus by targeting very wealthy superannuants with a new tax.

"You're never going to repair the budget by just going after rich people, no matter what happens," Mr Hockey told ABC radio on Friday.

"The budget repair needs to be everyone putting in an effort and, if we're taking some of those higher-income people off the part-pension and they are relying on their superannuation, then they should be entitled to do so because that's their money, not our money."

Mr Hockey said early versions of super laws as introduced by Labor allowed some wealthy people to pump large amounts of cash into super to take advantage of concessional tax rates.

To change that now would be "retrospective taxation" at a time when superannuants were also facing lower returns due to record low interest rates.