MPs reap extra $30k each under Remuneration Tribunal ruling
PREMIER Jay Weatherill will gain a massive $60,000 pay rise and MPs will enjoy a $30,000 boost to their pay packet in the new year, under a ruling.
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PREMIER Jay Weatherill will gain a massive $60,000 pay rise and Members of State Parliament will enjoy a $30,000 boost to their pay packet in the new year, under a Remuneration Tribunal ruling.
The rises are compensation for losing travel allowances and other entitlements revoked following controversy over travel expenses claimed by SA Tourism Minister Leon Bignell and former federal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop. But most MPs will come out well in front, given they wouldn’t have made use of their full entitlements in the past.
The Christmas-time boost has already been criticised by Greens MLC Mark Parnell, who argues it is “unfair to taxpayers to compensate MPs for a service that they don’t use”.
The independent Remuneration Tribunal was called on to determine the pay rise after Mr Weatherill vowed to reform MPs’ entitlements.
The tribunal on Thursday recommended an extra $30,294 a year for backbench MPs, on top of their current base salary of $157,030, taking the minimum for any MP to $187,324.
The average Australian wage is about $60,000 a year.
Ministers receive an extra 75 per cent above the base MP wage, while the Premier earns double. Under new rules, Opposition frontbench MPs with portfolio responsibilities will receive a 25 per cent loading.
The new pay scale takes effect on January 1.
Mr Weatherill announced in September that MPs would lose an annual $13,500 allowance for interstate and overseas travel. So-called “gold passes”, which allow unlimited travel for MPs on local public transport and trips on interstate rail services, were also revoked and MPs would no longer be paid extra for sitting on parliamentary committees unless they were the chairman.
Every MP will benefit from the pay increase, even if they are not involved in committees or did not previously use their travel entitlements.
Mr Weatherill said the tribunal’s decision “essentially offsets the abolishment of a raft of entitlements, including domestic and international travel allowances, gold travel pass and committee work”.
“This increase means SA MPs remain $12,000 below our Federal counterparts,” he said. The Government has imposed a cap on public servant pay rises of 2.5 per cent per year.
Public Service Associationgeneral secretary Nev Kitchin said public servants would expect “fair and reasonable” pay and conditions, given the increase afforded to MPs. “Unlike politicians, members are not awarded automatic wage increases,” Mr Kitchin said.
“The PSA is required to enter into good faith enterprise negotiations to secure wage increases and employment conditions for its members.
“The PSA would expect when it is time to negotiate wages for members, that consideration is
given for a fair and reasonable increase in light of this outcome for politicians.”
Opposition treasury spokesman Rob Lucas said the Liberal Party supported MPs’ pay being determined by an independent tribunal.
“The principle behind the new legislation was to be more transparent about MPs’ pay by abolishing many of the benefits and allowances which the community had complained about,” Mr Lucas said. “The salary adjustment determined by the independent tribunal is to compensate for the removal of various entitlements that may not have previously been clear to the public.”
The tribunal determined the unlimited public transport travel allowance for MPs to be worth $1563 and interstate rail travel entitlement to be worth $2061.
But few MPs would have used the full entitlements.
The tribunal also awarded MPs a further $13,170 to compensate for loss of extra income received for serving on parliamentary committees.
The amount paid for service on a parliamentary committee currently ranges $15,313 to $18,376 per year but varies greatly between MPs depending on their involvement.
Some MPs do not serve on committees and some committees do not pay members extra.
A total $669,166 was paid to ordinary members of committees last year.
Members of Select Committees are paid a sitting fee of $340.90, paid at the end of an election cycle.
The pay rise decision for MPs follows salary package increases of $67,000 and $51,000 for the public service chiefs who run the health department (David Swan) and education department (Tony Harrison).
The Premier’s department chief, Kym Winter-Dewhirst, earns $550,000 a year and it is understood Police Commissioner Grant Stevens earns a salary package of about $370,000.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA branch director of operations Rob Bonner said his members would not be critical of a rise to the base wage for MPs, which was about the same amount as they were already entitled to through other allowances.
“If they’ve now got to pay for that (travel) out of their wage ... then that in a sense makes them accountable for using their own money,” he said.
The nurses union begins renegotiating its enterprise bargaining agreement next year. The Police Association is currently in negotiations.