" Most people would be better off withdrawing their funds to pay down their mortgage. "
If most people were that responsible then we wouldn't need superannuation, would we ? If we didn't have an aging population that is an ever increasing burden on the economy by baby boomers we wouldn't need super either.
Don't forget it was a Labor government that introduced super for workers.
Yes, there would have been some people that absolutely needed to access their super and I support that idea.
However, many have been accessing money they don't need. Anecdotally I hear that it is very easy to access.
The young think they'll catch up later. They think the amount they are taking out won't make much difference over 40 years.