$600K salary not enough to pay for top NSW bureaucrat’s London life

“Horrified" by the costs of rent and school fees, Stephen Cartwright told NSW parliament his London lifestyle could not be funded, despite a $113K living allowance.

A public servant earning $600,000 a year has revealed he struggled to pay rent and school fees in the UK and could not afford to have his wife and children living with him in London, parliament has heard.

NSW Agent-General to London Stephen Cartwright squabbled with executives and spoke to two government ministers about his salary package – which included a base salary of $487,000 along with an added living allowance of about $113,000.

After arriving in London, Mr Cartwright negotiated a contract change which meant NSW taxpayers paid his rent while picking up an additional bill of about $105,000 in fringe benefit tax.

Mr Cartwright told a parliamentary inquiry looking at his appointment to the plum overseas trade role that he was “horrified” to see the cost of living in London despite earning well above Premier Dominic Perrottet’s annual salary.

“I was pretty horrified with what I saw,” he told parliament.

Agent General to London Stephen Cartwright, Picture John Grainger

”I got over here and found out the outrageous rents that you have to pay here, the school fees that are double anything that you would ever pay in Australia.”

Mr Cartwright said he accepted a split salary on the behest of Investment NSW to avoid lodging a special request for the generous package which went above the maximum salary for a band three public servant.

But Mr Cartwright said he realised he had been short-changed when he discovered the $113,000 allowance was only payable once he moved to London.

Mr Cartwright’s complaints about his financial position are in line with the public service with the latest People Matter Employee Survey found that 34 per cent of public servants are not happy with their salaries — an increase of 11 per cent since the previous year.

He said he sought help from then Trade Minister Stuart Ayres because Mr Ayres had told him to contact him if he needed help.

He justified the decision to go above the heads of Investment NSW executives because he had never worked in the public sector before and did not consider it inappropriate.

Shadow Treasurer Daniel Mookhey. Picture: Damian Shaw

Mr Cartwright said he had also spoken to former Deputy Premier John Barilaro about the appointment.

Mr Mookhey has slammed Mr Cartwright’s self-pity calling him one of the best paid bureaucrats in the state.

“Most people would struggle to understand why he was so aggrieved about his package, given $600,000 a year is a very generous salary according to anyone’s standards,” he said.

“I don’t have much sympathy for the cost-of-living pressures senior trade and investment commissioners are under overseas given their generous packages.”