Ultimate history of pay rises for Qld councillors and mayors

The paypackets of Queensland councillors have always been a hot topic of debate – here is exactly why. SPECIAL REPORT

It’s a sore point for ratepayers, opens councillors up for easy criticism, and always ends in an almighty debate.

The pay packets of Queensland bureaucrats are in the spotlight again after it was revealed two council bosses have larger incomes than Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden.

Brisbane City Council chief executive Colin Jensen earns between $700,000 and $799,999, according to the councils’ 2021/22 annual reports.

Down the road, Gold Coast City Council chief Tim Baker earns between $600,001 and $700,000.

Both pocket significantly more than the US President and the Australian Prime Minister, who earn about $600,000 and $550,000 – when converted to Australian dollars – respectively.

The latest figures add to the long-standing appeals from ratepayers to ensure they get bang for their buck from those in power.

Here is how News Corp has covered the rise and rise of Queensland council pay packets over the past 40 years.

June 20, 1984

Lord Mayor Roy Harvey will receive a salary and allowance package of more than $100,000 a year after a 4.1 per cent national wage flow-on.

He will receive a salary of $64,138 and an allowance of $36,111.

Alderman Harvey’s new income is significantly higher that of the Federal Opposition Leader, Mr Peacock, on a package $91,696, and the State Opposition Leader, Mr Wright, on $58,596 plus a $4000 allowance.

The Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, receives a salary and allowance package of $124,219.

The Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, earns $86,015 a year and has no limit on his expenses.

The Brisbane City Council voted for the 4.1 per cent increase for aldermen following the State Government’s adoption of the national wage rise of April 9.

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Roy Harvey.

June 19, 1985

Brisbane City Council’s 27 aldermen voted themselves a pay rise on the eve of the council Budget.

The Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, will receive a salary and allowance package of $102,856 – up from $100,249.

The council’s five committee chairmen will receive salaries of $43,140, and backbench aldermen $34,045.

The increases are the result of a 2.6 per cent rise in State parliamentarians’ salaries, which followed a similar national wage increase in April.

A backbench alderman’s salary is set at 80 per cent of a backbench parliamentarian’s.

Alderman Atkinson’s salary will be $65,806 and her Lord Mayoral allowance $37,050.

The Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, earns almost $90,000 a year and has no limit on his expenses.

February 18, 1986

The Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, will earn $2053 a week after a 3.8 per cent national wage flow-on to be adopted by the Brisbane City Council.

She will retain her status as Australia’s highest-paid female politician with a salary of $68,306 and an allowance of $38,458.

The Brisbane City Council is expected to increase all aldermanic salaries by 3.8 per cent following the State Government’s adoption last year of the November national wage rise.

The Vice-Mayor, Alderman Beanland, and other committee chairmen, will receive $42,703, and backbench aldermen $35,328.

Alderman Atkinson’s salary and allowance package totals $106,764.

In comparison, the Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, receives a salary of $91,605, an electoral allowance and unlimited ministerial expenses.

The Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, is paid $128,092 plus allowances.

June 24, 1987

Salaries for Brisbane City Council aldermen will rise following recent national wage case decisions.

Council aldermen voted themselves rises of 2.3 per cent plus $10 a week.

This means the salary of the Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, will rise from $68,307 to $70,399 a year, and the Lord Mayor’s allowance will rise from $38,458 to $39,864.

Backbenchers’ salaries will rise from $35,329 a year to $36,558.

Council committee chairmen’s salaries will rise from $44,779 a year to $46,132.

The council also voted to increase its contribution towards the aldermanic superannuation scheme from 21 per cent of an alderman’s salary to 28 per cent.

This is to cover a deficiency in the scheme of $620,000.

April 6, 1988

Brisbane City Council aldermen may give themselves a pay rise that would cost ratepayers an extra $58,000 a year.

A spokesman for the Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, said that if the rise was adopted Alderman Atkinson would receive a 3 1/2 per cent increase in salary and allowances.

This would make her total income about $113,300 a year and maintain her as a bigger earner than the Premier, Mr Ahern.

Since 1926 the wages of Brisbane City Council aldermen have been calculated as a percentage of those of State MPs, who moved to increase their pay levels to within $500 of Federal MPs.

The legislation enabling the rise for State MPs is expected to go before the next session of Parliament.

January 25, 1989

The Brisbane Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, will receive a $261-a-week pay rise in July.

Council aldermen will get an extra $136 a week.

The 15 per cent pay rise will lift Alderman Atkinson’s annual salary by $13,603 to $103,488 and an alderman’s annual pay by $7085 to $53,900.

By July, Alderman Atkinson’s salary will have risen $44,564 or $857 a week in a just more than a year.

Aldermen drew widespread criticism in July when they voted themselves a minimum 27 per cent pay rise and tied their salaries to $500 less than State Parliament backbenchers.

The Deputy Mayor, Alderman Denman, will receive $70,070 a year, up $9990 or $192 a week.

December 22, 1989

Brisbane Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, will refuse any boost to her $103,680 a year salary outside of consumer price index rises – and will recommend that Brisbane’s aldermen do likewise.

And the Premier, Mr Goss, who collects $111,500 a year, agrees politicians’ pay should be linked to the cost of living.

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson in 1990.

They put their views on record as the Independent Rumunerations Tribunal postponed a $6000-a-year pay rise for federal MPs.

State MLAs and aldermen would have been awarded the extra $6000 a year automatically if approved, with Queensland parliamentarians’ pay maintained at $500 a year under Federal MPs and those of aldermen $500 a year behind State members.

Alderman Atkinson said existing payouts to politicians were fair but future pay rises should be limited to the CPI.

Brisbane ratepayers annually fork out $103,680 for the Lord Mayor and $54,000 each for aldermen and the leader of the council opposition.

Queensland taxpayers pay the Premier $111,523, Ministers $88,228 and the Opposition Leader $79,665.

June 25, 1991

Brisbane council aldermen have refused pay rises of $6400.

The Lord Mayor, Jim Soorley, said he thought politicians were underpaid.

The Labor council decided to refuse an automatic pay increase for aldermen linked to increases for federal and state politicians.

Ald Soorley said it was important to set a good example in tough economic times.

“I think politicians in this country are underpaid,’’ he said.

Asked if the public would agree, Ald Soorley said: “I don’t know, they don’t work the hours that some politicians work.’’

He said aldermen were entitled to pay rises.

“Brisbane City Council aldermen have not had a pay rise for one year and this is a sacrifice,’’ Ald Soorley said.

Aldermen’s salaries – pegged at $500 a year below State Government backbenchers – are $57,300.

They would have risen to $63,768 with the pay rise.

Ald Soorley receives a salary of $92,233.

He stood to earn a $104,024 salary.

May 14, 1993

Ipswich Mayor Dave Underwood was one of the best-paid civic officials in Queensland.

Ald Underwood, who heads a council that is middle-sized in Queensland terms, earned thousands of dollars more than mayors of local authorities of similar size.

He earned about $92,000 a year as the Mayor of Ipswich, a city of 75,500 people and about 23,000 ratepayers.

His pay package also included a Ford Fairlane.

Pine Rivers Shire, on Brisbane’s northern fringe, represents about 92,000 residents.

Pine Rivers chairman Rob Akers said he did not earn a set salary but a chairman’s allowance plus meeting fees.

“It would be between $50,000 and $60,000 a year if I attend all meetings,’’ Ald Akers said.

“And there is no super annuation, no long-service leave and no sick leave.’’

Gold Coast Mayor Lex Bell is eligible for about $75,000 a year for representing 128,000 people.

He accepts only $45,000 a year, plus a car. A council spokesman said Ald Bell simply would not accept a $30,000 mayoral allowance.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Jim Soorley represents 10 times more people than Ald Underwood and earns $99,000 in salary, plus an extra $24,000 in super annuation and expense benefits.

Toowoomba Mayor Ross Miller represents 80,000 people – more than Ald Underwood – but earns $23,050 a year plus meeting allowances understood to total less than $15,000.

March 1, 2000

South-east Queensland mayors earn up to double the wages of their New South Wales counterparts and are entitled to free lunches, drinks and transport.

But the mayors have strongly defended their pay packets, saying they are worth every cent.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Jim Soorley has the largest pay packet with mayors from the Gold Coast, Ipswich and Logan following closely behind.

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Jim Soorley.

Ipswich Mayor John Nugent said he was satisfied with his level of remuneration.

Cr Nugent earns $133,310, including superannuation, for looking after 130,000 residents.

“I can assure you I earn every cent, we are the fourth largest council in Queensland,’’ Cr Nugent said.

NSW Blacktown Mayor Alan Pendleton earns a base wage of $35,000 a year for 250,000 residents.

Logan Mayor Rod Golledge receives a salary package of $103,259.52, including $11,063.52 in super for the third largest council in Queensland of 170,000 residents.

He has unlimited use of a Diners Club corporate credit card and mobile phone.

Cr Golledge travels business class when he has a journey of more than two hours.

Cr Soorley’s salary of $131,705 a year is tied to that of a Cabinet Minister — and increased when the State officials give themselves a pay rise.

Cr Soorley has a $31,194 expense account which excludes his superannuation, car, home and mobile phones.

Gold Coast Mayor Gary Baildon earns a package of $105,872, including a $94,529 salary and $11,343 in super. He also receives a $15,248 role allowance for entertainment expenses.

Noosa Shire Council Mayor Bob Abbot earns $74,198 annually including superannuation for controlling a council with 42,000 residents.

April 8, 2004

Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke is leading the charge to increase councillors’ annual salaries by about $10,000.

Mr Clarke wants to peg councillors’ salaries to a percentage of the salary of a state MP, similar to Brisbane City Council. It sets its councillors’ salaries at 80 per cent of a backbencher’s wage.

Former Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke.

A backbencher’s salary is $98,300, meaning under the new system a councillor’s salary would go from $70,600 a year to $81,250.

On top of their annual salary, councillors get a late model car, generous superannuation, a mobile telephone and an annual $3000 expenses allowance.

Committee chairpersons receive an additional $3500.

Cr Clarke told his new councillor colleagues that he supported a pay rise.

“I don’t believe the salaries are enough for the workload,” he said.

April 28, 2004

Logan City councillors have voted themselves a massive pay rise.

At the first meeting of the newly-elected council, councillors voted nine to two for a wage rise of 13.6 per cent in real terms.

This will take a councillor’s salary to $76,695, a chairperson’s salary to $86,921 (a rise of 21.4 per cent), and the deputy mayor’s salary to $92,034 (a rise of 20 per cent). The mayoral salary will remain at $111,255.

The increase will come into effect on July 1.

All salaries would be subject to annual Brisbane Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases.

The salary recommendation was approved unanimously by the six members of the finance committee.

Only councillors Darren Power (Division 10) and Aidan McLindon (Division 4) objected to the rise.

July 27, 2006

The salaries of Brisbane City councillors are set to rise by $12,180 or 11.5 per cent in just nine months four times the annual rate of inflation.

The base salary for councillors rose from $105,770 to $110,150 in November and will rise again to $117,950. In the same period inflation has hovered just below 3 per cent.

The base salary doesn t include car and travel allowances or superannuation, which in 2005 was 20 per cent. Special allowances are also paid to the seven civic cabinet members.

Lord Mayor Campbell is the highest paid councillor $172,000 plus an allowance of $63,000 before the November increase.

December 5, 2007

The Gold Coast’s next mayor will be the highest-paid local government representative in Queensland.

The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal announced the 2008 mayor, to be elected in March, will receive a $40,000 pay rise to $202,000 a year.

In comparison, Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman receives a base salary of $191,755.

Both leaders receive allowances on top of their base salaries totalling tens of thousands of dollars.

Campbell Newman. Picture: Peter Wallis

The independent tribunal found pay levels for councillors and mayors should be set as a percentage of that received by state MPs.

Previously the councils themselves set their own pay levels, which varied across the state.

The mayors of the newly merged Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast regional councils would receive up to $183,000.

Councillors across the state would receive between $19,000 and $120,000 depending on their area.

Brisbane City Council was not covered by the report.

December 8, 2010

Queensland councillors will be awarded a 2.5 per cent pay rise next year, following a determination by the Local Government Remuneration and Discipline Tribunal.

The tribunal met Minister Desley Boyle to announce the rise for all councillors – except those sitting on Brisbane City Council, who are covered by a different Act.

The pay rise will come into effect on January 1 and is the second awarded to councillors since the beginning of this term in 2008, to bring the total rise in that time to 5.7 per cent.

It means the maximum that Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast regional council mayors can receive has gone from $200,910 in 2008 to $202,710 from January 1. The maximum pay for councillors in those areas has increased from $121,340 to $122,380.

Logan Mayor Pam Parker can earn $181,540, up from $179,720 in 2008, while councillors there can now receive a maximum of $111,790.

Councillors in Toowoomba, Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville will receive a maximum of $97,780, up from $96,820 in 2008.

May 24, 2013

Charters Towers Regional Council Mayor Ben Callcott is in line for a pay increase of nearly $7000.

The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal announced councillors’ remuneration levels from January 1, 2012.

Cr Callcott, who is currently paid $82,400, will have his pay packet rise by 8 per cent to $89,147.

Deputy Mayor Bernie Robertson will lose just $69 a year to be on $51,431, while councillors Roma Bailey, Norah Vinson, Barbara Robinson, Frank Beveridge and Dave Coleman will be paid $44,573, a 7.5 per cent increase.

There are 10 pay brackets for councils in Queensland in which Charters Towers falls under the third lowest.

Meanwhile, Townsville’s new mayor can expect to take home $142,695 during the first year in the top job.

New guidelines show local government wages will jump more than $27,700 from Thuringowa Mayor Les Tyrell’s current earnings and $16,856 from Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney’s pay slip.

The inaugural report released by the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal allocated almost $1 million in wages to the new Townsville City Council.

The mayor’s earnings are on a par with the new regional councils in Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and Toowoomba.

Townsville councillors will earn $90,495 per year, which is almost double their current earnings.

June 19, 2013

The chief executive of Brisbane City Council now earns more than the Prime Minister after she received a staggering $70,000 pay rise.

Jude Munro recently received the inflation-busting 20 per cent increase — despite the economic slump. She now earns $410,000.

Ipswich City Council executive Carl Wulff also enjoyed a $73,000 pay rise – a 26 per cent boost – taking his wage packet to $350,000.

In contrast, Kevin Rudd earns considerably less, on $330,000. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is on $294,914, with Federal Cabinet ministers earning $219,178.

December 7, 2014

Pay packets for Queensland councillors are about to get heavier with a 2.3 per cent pay rise. Some of the state’s top-paid mayors will pick up an extra $5200 a year under the expected rise, including the Gold Coast’s Tom Tate who will now be on an annual salary of $232,938.

The more modest pay rise set by the independent Local Government Remuneration and Discipline Tribunal follows a whopping 4.5 per cent handed down last year.

The CPI pay increase will apply to all Queensland councils, except Brisbane which has a separate system, from July 1 next year.

After Cr Tate, Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson and Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland will get the biggest dollar-figure pay bump, up about $5000, which takes them to $210,396 a year.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale and Logan Mayor Pam Parker will be on $187,853.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk earns $243,507 a year, Opposition Leader Milton Dick is on $162,339, while the base pay for councillors was set at $147,580.

July 5, 2015

Brisbane City Council bosses are the highest-paid municipal officials in the nation, a Courier-Mail survey has found.

CEO Colin Jensen earns more than $500,000, while Lord Mayor Graham Quirk receives a $310,000-plus package.

The Brisbane salary packages are the highest because unlike other capitals, the council covers most of greater Brisbane, not just the inner city.

Brisbane City Council CEO Colin Jensen. Picture: Tara Croser

As the largest local government in Australia, the council serves a population of 1.3 million, with an annual budget of $2.8 billion – $2154 per capita. In comparison, Melbourne Council’s budget is just short of $400 million for a population of 125,000 – $3200 per capita.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle receives a $180,000 annual allowance, plus expenses, while new CEO Ben Rimmer has a $460,000 package, the survey has found.

Capital city CEO salaries compare well with the pay of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who earns about $507,000.

January 12, 2016

Queensland’s MPs and their Brisbane City Council colleagues will start the new year with a pay rise and about four months’ back pay.

But they will not be getting as much as the public servants their pay increases are tied to, with the Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal finding weaker economic conditions, among other factors, meant a smaller increase was warranted.

The tribunal ruled MPs should be given a 1.73 per cent increase, backdated to September 1 last year, 0.77 per cent less than the 2.5 per cent increase awarded to public servants by the Palaszczuk Government last year.

The pay rise and associated back pay will also be passed on to Brisbane city councillors, meaning Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s base salary will rise by about $4200 to $247,721.70 a year, not including super and other allowances, while council opposition leader Milton Dick’s base salary will increase from $162,339 a year to $165,147, up by $2808 a year.

The average BCC councillor will receive a pay increase of $2583 a year, rising from $147,581 to $150,134.

September 19, 2016

Salary, allowances and entitlements for Brisbane City Council employees are on the rise with some earning more than $200,000 per year, as revealed in the Annual Report 2015-2016.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk earns $297,266, receives a $93,070 Expense of Office Allowance and is entitled to the use of a council car with a recommended retail price of up to and including $72,000.

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner, who is also the councillor for Chandler, earns $234,209.

Chairwoman of Council ­Angela Owen (Calamvale) receives $225,200 as do the six committee chairs Councillor Krista Adams (Holland Park), Councillor Matthew Burke (Jamboree), Councillor Amanda Cooper (Bracken Ridge), Councillor Peter Matic (Paddington), Councillor David McLachlan (Hamilton) and Councillor Julian Simmonds (Walter Taylor).

Leader of the Opposition and councillor for Wynnum Manly Councillor Peter Cumming takes home a pay packet of $198,178.

February 19, 2019

Cairns Regional Council has hit back at union criticism over a pending pay rise that will shoot Mayor Bob Manning’s wage up to almost $180,000.

Every mayor and councillor in Queensland outside Brisbane City Council will be eligible for a 2.1 per cent pay hike next financial year.

The Local Government Remuneration and Discipline Tribunal gives councils the option of turning down the extra money – something ETU organiser Rob  Hill argued should happen as a matter of respect.

But the council’s CEO John Andrejic argued unions were blocking staff – who on average earned 25 per cent above award rates and enjoyed prime working conditions – from voting on their wage offer.

Mayor Bob Manning will receive a $3517 annual pay rise under the changes.

Cairns Regional Council Mayor Bob Manning in 2018. Picture: Stewart McLean

September 15, 2020

Hundreds of Queensland mayors and councillors will receive hefty pay rises to reflect their increased workload as a result of forced council mergers.

But the Queensland government has promised no extra cost to ratepayers for the hike.

The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal handed down its report on councillors’ pay levels, which will apply to the state’s 72 councils following local government elections next March.

Previously the councils themselves set their own wages, which varied widely across the state.

The tribunal recommended a new remuneration structure, which allocates each local government to one of 10 categories based on a range of criteria including size, population, assets and expenditure.

The system sets minimum and maximum amounts for wages.

The salary ranges will be set as a percentage of that received by state MPs.

Under the structure, the Gold Coast mayor would become the highest-paid local government member outside Brisbane City, receiving up to $202,000 a year.

Councillors from smaller authorities who survive the amalgamation with larger neighbours will also be better off.

Councillors in Douglas Shire in far north Queensland, who earn $37,904, could receive up to $88,590 if they are elected to the new Cairns Regional Council.

A councillor from Noosa Shire, who currently earns $63,279, could receive up to $110,740 if elected to the new Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

The mayor of that council will receive up to $183,510.

Councillors across the state will receive between $19,000 and $120,000, depending on their area.

Local Government Minister Warren Pitt said the pay rises would not cost taxpayers “a cent more” because of the reduced number of councillors.

February 1, 2023

The state’s mayors and councillors have been granted pay bumps worth thousands of dollars, with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate’s salary to now hit more than $270,000 per year.

The Local Government Remuneration Commission has made its annual ruling on councillor and mayoral pay, with local council representatives to be given pay rises of between 3 and 4 per cent.

The ruling, which excludes Brisbane City Council, will see Cr Tate’s annual salary increase from $263,227 to $271,124, while his fellow Gold Coast councillors will now earn $161,799 per year.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson, Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery, and Logan Mayor Darren Power will have their annual salary jump from $237,753 to $244,886.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding and Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill will now be paid $218,647 – up from their existing pay of $212,279 for the 2022-23 financial year.

Originally published as Ultimate history of pay rises for Qld councillors and mayors