Move to block ‘offensive’ pay rise for NSW Police Commissioner
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller offered to turn down his own pay rise – which will make him one of the highest paid public servants in the world – but the government decided to push ahead. This comes as MPs try to block the pay boost.
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EXCLUSIVE: NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller offered to stop the state government’s application for his own pay rise but the government decided to go ahead with it anyway, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian wrote to the NSW Remuneration Tribunal in March, which ultimately led to the approval of Mr Fuller’s new $649,500 salary being awarded.
Mr Fuller’s new salary is still less than the $720,480 a year set for the AFP commissioner and the tribunal noted it was comparable also to the incomes of commissioners at Queensland Police and Australian Border Force.
New details of what preceded the decision reveal the pay rise was first delayed because of the state’s horrific bushfire season then Mr Fuller wrote to the government offering to withdraw the request.
Police Minister David Elliott’s office confirmed today the pay rise was first discussed with Mr Elliott in April 2019. The minister, having recently arrived in the job, decided he would assess the commissioner’s performance before taking the matter further.
Ms Berejiklian verbally approved the pay rise in December 2019.
But due to the bushfires raging across the state at that time, there was a delay until March before Ms Berejiklian got around to completing the relevant paperwork and sending her direction to the tribunal.
Fuller had expressed in writing he was happy to withdraw the request, given the state was still in the grips of the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is also understood the Commissioner had misgivings about receiving a rise while the government was considering a pay freeze for public sector workers, a policy the government has not yet decided on.
A spokeswoman for Mr Elliott said he and Ms Berejiklian decided it would be unfair to stop the direction from going to the tribunal and it was sent regardless of Mr Fuller’s offer.
MPs delay plan to reverse top cop’s ‘offensive’ pay rise
State parliament is unlikely to vote on a motion to block Police Commissioner Mick Fuller’s pay rise until next month.
Greens Leader David Shoebridge told The Daily Telegraph he agreed to delay a vote on the motion “until the next sitting in early June so everyone can have a proper go”.
Labor’s upper house leader Adam Searle said the parliament needed to consider a raft of COVID-19 legislation before the attempt to block the pay rise could be voted on.
The $87,000 pay rise takes Mr Fuller’s salary to $649,500 per year, making him one of the highest paid public servants in the country.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian slapped down Labor and the Greens on Tuesday, for trying to block Mr Fuller’s wage increase.
“I think it says a lot about the crossbench members that is the biggest issue that I think is impacting the people of NSW at this moment,” the Premier said this morning.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters Mr Fuller works “24/7” to manage more than 20,000 Police Force employees.
“Every hour, every day, he’s across that organisation,” Mr Worboys said.
“He’s never been absent in terms of what’s required of him … he’s been terribly supportive, not just of me, but everyone in our organisation, and does an incredibly good job.”
Mr Fuller’s salary is governed by a tribunal, which sets the wages for a number of public servants.
Ms Berejiklian said the decision to boost Mr Fuller’s pay was made last year.
When asked whether the increase should be revisited in light of the coronavirus-driven economic slump, Ms Berejiklian said “no”.
The Greens have the numbers in the upper house to pass their motion attempting to block the pay rise, with Labor, One Nation, Animal Justice, and the Shooters all indicating they would vote with Mr Shoebridge. Christian Democrats MP Fred Nile said the government should explain why it was justified.
Mr Shoebridge said he had agreed to defer a vote on the matter because, under COVID-19 safety measures, time given for parliamentary debate has been restricted.
The NSW Greens revealed earlier their plans to block the “offensive and excessive” $87,000 pay rise given to the NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, in state parliament.
The Greens believe they have the numbers in the Upper House to support a motion to reverse the pay rise using the Parliament’s oversight role under the Statutory and Other Officers Act 1975, Section 19A.
Greens MP and Justice Spokesman, David Shoebridge, said the pay rise is unthinkable, given the pandemic and the circumstances in which many people have lost their jobs and faced pay cuts.
The pay rise, which pushed Commissioner Fuller’s salary to $649,500, makes him one of the highest paid public servants in the country and the world.
Mr Shoebridge said: “in the middle of a pandemic when hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs and many more facing pay cuts, it was offensive to see the Police Commissioner getting an $87,000 pay rise.”
“The Premier should have never offered this, and the Commissioner should have never accepted it. Both of them have shown a lack of true leadership here.
“Commissioner Fuller’s pay rise is more money than most of his police constables get paid in a year. How can he look them in the eye after this?
“The good news is that we can correct this error in the Upper House and reverse this excessive pay rise.”
Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, Labor’s Adam Searle, said the pay rise is also the full annual salary of a nurse.
“If the government thinks it is appropriate to cut (freeze) the wages of our hard working front line public services providers, like police, nurses and teachers are working so hard to deliver to the community, how can they justify such an outsized pay rise. “
“If there is a motion for reversal of the pay rise put up in the parliament, we would vote for it,” said Mr Searle.
Shooters and Fishers Upper House MP Robert Borsak said they would also support the motion from the Greens to block the pay rise.
The pay rise comes on the back of NSW Government flagging a freeze on the annual 2.5 per cent pay rise public servants in NSW receive, and NSW Treasurer Dom Perrottet’s comments last month that politicians should not get a pay rise during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“You’d want to socially distance yourself from any politician that thinks they deserve a pay rise in this environment,” Mr Perrottet told Sky News.
The pay rise was the result of a directive from Ms Berejiklian on March 26, amid the blame game between state and federal governments over who was responsible for allowing passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship to disembark without being screened for COVID-19, and just days before Mr Fuller announced police would launch a criminal investigation into the incident.
Mr Fuller’s exact previous salary is not known, but it ranged from $487,501 to $562,650.
In an usually short time frame of four days, the NSW Remuneration Tribunal agreed to set Mr Fuller’s new pay packet at $649,500 per year backdated to January 1.
The tribunal, which rules on pay increases for senior government executives, said Mr Fuller’s current role as State Emergency Operations Controller in which he guides the state’s coronavirus response from a Homebush headquarters was one of the justifications for giving him the rise.
“The Commissioner of Police is one of NSW’s most senior office holders and it is appropriate that the role receive a level of remuneration which reflects the role and responsibilities. Given the current national health and economic crisis it is more important than ever that the services of Mr Fuller be recognised,” the ruling said.
“Having regard to the particular circumstances of the case the Tribunal is of the view that the remuneration package for Mr Fuller in the office of Commissioner of Police will be $649,500 per annum.”
It said the tribunal’s decision was “consistent with advice contained in the Premier’s direction” and was “appropriate given the complexity, responsibility and challenges of the office”.
Police Minister David Elliott backed Mr Fuller’s pay rise.
“Commissioner Fuller does an outstanding job, serving the state tirelessly for more than 30 years … including the Black Summer bushfires and the current COVID-19 crisis,” the minister said.
Mr Fuller, who joined the Police in 1987, became commissioner in early 2017 putting him in charge of a $3.6 billion police force with around 20,000 officers and unsworn staff.
The Police Commissioner has been contacted for comment.
Originally published as Move to block ‘offensive’ pay rise for NSW Police Commissioner
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