Anthony Albanese grilled on eye-watering salary ahead of pay rise

The Prime Minister has been grilled on his salary ahead of his pay rise on Monday.

Anthony Albanese has been grilled about his salary ahead of his payrise on Monday.

The Prime Minister’s salary will tick over $600,000 , reaching a new height for our elected leader’s pay packet.

He was questioned about the salary, which is about nine times the median Australian wage, while on Sunrise on Saturday morning.

“Prime Minister Monday not a bad day to be leading the country either,” host Matt Doran said.

“Your your salary, you’ll enjoy a pay rise, earning more than $600,000 a year. Given what Australians are going through, do you think that passes the pub test?”

Peter Dutton’s pay gets padded $25,000, to $432,239. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“I recognise I’m really well off,” the Prime Minister said, adding it was an independent tribunal which set politicians’ wages.

“That’s why we made the decision to intervene in the tax cut, so that both you and I had our tax cut in half, so that people who are low and middle income earners didn’t miss out, people who are earning under $45,000.”

Macquarie Group chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake is paid 50 times more than the Prime Minister. Picture: NewsWire / Christian Gilles

From Monday, Australians will pocket between $350 and $4500 in extra cash each year depending on their income bracket as part of the tax changes.

In June the independent Remuneration Tribunal announced a 3.5 per cent wage rise for federal MPs.

The Prime Minister’s salary goes up more than $20,000 under the change, to $607,471.

The independent Remuneration Tribunal ruled MPs will get a 3.5 per cent pay rise. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Australia’s highest paid chief executive is paid more 50 times more than the Prime Minister: Macquarie Group chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake was reportedly paid $30.4m last year.

The largest bank chief executive pay packet was CBA boss Matt Comyn with $7.3m. That sum made Mr Comyn the 19th highest paid chief executive in Australia, according to the Australian Financial Review, OpenDirector and global search firm Odgers Berndtson.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese grilled on eye-watering salary ahead of pay rise