Daniel Wills: No jobs, bad roads. Pay rise? No sweat

TIMING is everything in politics, and the week before Christmas is perfect if you want to announce that every state MP is getting a huge pay rise.

TIMING is everything in politics, and the week before Christmas is perfect if you want to announce that every state MP is getting a huge pay rise.

As the unemployment rate goes higher than the mercury in summer, most South Australians will be outraged to read that even the most useless backbencher is getting an extra $30,000.

But it gets worse — ministers and now shadow ministers get more still.

But both of the major parties are banking that you’re not paying attention.

With gift shopping and quite a lot of sweating to do, many people will let it slide.

There is, it should be said, a respectable argument for paying MPs a little more.

It is almost impossible to convince high achievers and earners to take big pay cuts, but accept the scrutiny, that comes with agreeing to serve in the State Parliament.

This will only change if the incentives do.

And the pay rise announced yesterday is a trade-off. Unreasonably generous allowances previously given for sitting on committees are gone, as are some travel entitlements.

But the other argument, which at this point in the state’s history will probably be more compelling to the public, is that they should do more to earn what they’re getting.

There would be a lot less public upset if the state was cruising as the powerhouse economy of the country and anyone who wanted a job could get one.

It would be different if our roads were in top nick and the Budget was actually in surplus, rather than us being told one will come after a whole bunch of stuff is sold off.

And more galling still is the fact that this is the one piece of legislation to have passed Parliament all year with strong bipartisan support and swift agreement.

They can be pretty efficient when they want to be.

But the issue is politically neutral. Both sides are tarred with the same brush.

Both lose, nobody wins, not a single vote has been changed.

And while the public will fume, on this issue you just can’t fight city hall.