State-owned transport agency wins special permission for super-sized Suburban Rail Loop salaries

The Suburban Rail Loop has locked in super-sized salaries for key executives — a moved defended by the Allan-government as “fair value”. See how much the Big Build’s top brass are being paid.

Public sector executives on Victoria’s most expensive transport project in history are being paid inflated salaries to compete with a hot infrastructure market.

Two taxpayer-funded positions on the $34.5 billion Suburban Rail Loop East, which aims to connect Cheltenham to Box Hill via a 26km underground rail tunnel, have recently been given the green light to include packages above standard pay bands.

But a third request by the Suburban Rail Loop Authority to boost the salary for an executive general manager of planning to above $533,000, was rejected.

The two packages that were inflated were for the executive overseeing the SRL East tunnels, who could now be paid up to $465,000 a year, and the director of operations who would command a $429,000 package.

Micro tunnelling for the Suburban Rail Loop. Picture: Suburban Rail Loop Authority

A render of a Suburban Rail Loop train. Picture: Supplied

The state’s public sector pay-setting body, the Remuneration Tribunal, gave the green light to paying them between $28,000 and $64,000 higher than comparable executive roles due to market conditions and high pay of similar SRL roles already in place.

“The need for remuneration above the band for this position will need to be reassessed as labour market conditions change, and carefully considered when the executive contract expires,” the tribunal says.

Last year, the Herald Sun revealed a secret report showing that the combined salaries of 25 Big Build bosses was more than $12 million a year, while some executive were paid up to 70 per cent more than the premier.

Premier Jacinta Allan inspects early works on the SRL in Clayton. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Opposition finance spokeswoman, Jess Wilson, said the executive salary “top-ups” were awarded while police, paramedics, firefighters and healthcare staff “continue protracted pay deal fights with the Allan Labor Government”.

“For a decade under Labor, the number of public sector executives has swelled as education, health, community safety and child protection outcomes continue to deteriorate,” she said.

It hasn’t been just transport roles that recently got a super-sized salary tick, however, with the position of executive director of Treasury Corporation Victoria connected to a $472,000 package – about $70,000 above the allowable public sector range.

And the chief executive of the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust could be offered up to $576,000 a year, which is about $43,000 above an allowable salary range.

SRL Minister Danny Pearson defended the mammoth salaries on Wednesday, saying the inflated wages were required to ensure the project could attract the best people for the job.

Mr Pearson said he had asked the tribunal to boost the transport executives salaries to “make sure that we’re paying fair value”.

“These projects are incredibly complex,” he said.

“We’ve got to get the best and brightest in the field.”

Originally published as State-owned transport agency wins special permission for super-sized Suburban Rail Loop salaries