Fat cat salaries reveal the public servants earning the big bucks

THEY are the eye-watering salaries of the state’s top public servants with many earning a staggering $300,000 a year more than Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

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SENIOR public servants are earning more than $700,000 a year, a staggering $300,000 more than NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The NSW Remuneration Tribunal has published new, increased fat cat salaries, revealing Department of Premier and Cabinet Secretary Tim Reardon as the highest-paid government executive.

Mr Reardon earns $629,100 each year plus an additional 12 per cent worth $75,500 — a big payrise compared with his former role as NSW Transport Secretary.

The state's highest-paid public servant Tim Reardon earns $629,000 a year. Picture: Jonathan Ng

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Rodd Staples, who replaced Mr Reardon, only receives a comparatively measly $569,050, not including his bonus of $68,300.

Most senior executives, already taking home big pay packets of more than $530,000, are entitled to an extra 12 per cent “discretionary remuneration”.

Show me the money: Senior public servants and their salaries

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the new pay rises were “obscene”.

“Those are the kind of wages that would stagger most people and are more closely tied with working for big corporate interests,” he said.

“The issue here is the obscene salaries seem to be handed out to the very elite in the bureaucracy and often these are people who are urging staff cuts and wage cuts in their own bureaucracies.”

Other top earning public servants include former ABC boss and now Education Department Secretary Mark Scott and Barangaroo Deliver Authority chief executive Craig van der Laan.

Originally published as Fat cat salaries reveal the public servants earning the big bucks