It's time our councillors are paid what they're worth

Pay peanuts and you'll get monkeys

The current group of councillors, from left: Reece Byrnes, Ron Cooper, Chris Cherry, Mayor Katie Milne, James Owen, Warren Polglase and Pryce Allsop. Picture: Scott Powick

THERE'S an old saying that if you pay peanuts, you'll get monkeys.

It's easy for us armchair bandits to sit back and criticise those who are prepared to stick their necks out and have a go on council, particularly with Tweed Shire Council's mid-term mayoral election due next week.

But spare a thought for our seven councillors. Few realise they are paid a pittance.

Each year, the NSW Local Government Remuneration Tribunal determines how much representatives are paid. The latest report, published in April this year, determined councillors' wages should remain unchanged, save for the annual 2.5per cent CPI increase, in keeping with other government wage rises.

Classified as a regional rural council, that means each of our councillors is entitled to a maximum pay of $19,790 for their efforts, while our mayor, Katie Milne, is eligible for a maximum of $43,170.

Quite frankly, that's an insult.

Contrast this to their colleagues over the border, where councillors earn $147,881 each year, while Mayor Tom Tate takes home a whopping $247,802.

Yes, the Gold Coast is a larger city, but surely the needs of Tweed residents are just as pressing as our counterparts over the border. This means our council positions are contested by those in a position to volunteer most of their time - hence our leaning towards retirees and political apparatchiks who may be supported by their particular party.

It's high time our councillors were paid their worth. They deserve to be appropriately remunerated for the hours and hours of mostly unpaid work that goes into being a councillor in an age where community demands are ever increasing.

It's time the NSW Government and more specifically Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton bit the bullet and addressed this issue once and for all, otherwise the sector will remain plagued by unprofessionalism and ridicule.