Malcolm Turnbull approves extra pay for 30 political staffers, costing taxpayers $840,000

LABOR has hit out at Malcolm Turnbull for approving wage boosts for 30 staffers costing $840,000, but opposition and crossbench MPs have also had staff benefit from the generous deal.

POLITICAL staffers for Labor and crossbench MPs have received pay top-ups ticked off by Malcolm Turnbull, but the Opposition says the Prime Minister should be blamed for that.

The Herald Sun revealed today that taxpayers are footing an $840,000 annual bill for extra payments authorised by Mr Turnbull to 30 staffers in the Parliament.

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Labor employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor he did not know how many of those staffers worked for the Opposition but that the “overwhelming number” worked for the government.

Asked if he would be disappointed if Labor staffers had received pay top-ups, he said: “If this has been sanctioned by the Prime Minister, led by the Prime Minister, I think the censure should be directed towards him.”

Mr Turnbull said this morning that the salary increases generally occurred when senior public servants were effectively seconded into political offices.

“It is a longstanding practice and precedent and it is a good thing to do and when they come across, they come across naturally at their public service salary. So that is the explanation for that,” he said.

Mr O’Connor said the pay increases were “sneaky” but said political staffers, whether they had been public servants or not, should “accept the pay structure of that office”.

Malcolm Turnbull has personally ­intervened to give wage boosts to 30 government staffers. Picture: AAP

The extra payments, which have raised eyebrows in government circles, come as ordinary workers struggle with record low wage growth.

Under their workplace agreement, staffers can be paid a maximum ­salary of $259,000, which is already well above the $203,000 wage of most federal MPs.

But Mr Turnbull has used a special power in the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 to hand an average of $28,000 each to the 30 staffers.

The Prime Minister’s decision, which has caused envy among other government ­employees, has also sparked fears that extravagant pay rates will be entrenched for public ­servants who become political staffers.

Mr Turnbull paid former chief of staff Drew Clarke $691,000 — nearly $200,000 more than the Prime Minister himself — after he matched the wage he received as the secretary of the Department of Communications.

“Any practice which results in ministerial staff being paid more than their ministers is a concern,” a government MP told the Herald Sun.

“This reflects the fact that top-level public sector pay is out of ­control.”

Mr Turnbull also hand-picked high-profile public ­servants Greg Moriarty and then Peter Woolcott to serve as his chief of staff.

Greg Moriarty. Picture: Gary Ramage

Peter Woolcott.

When in government, Labor used the same loophole to give extra cash to only a handful of staffers, according to reports on the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act. But 38 Labor staffers were paid above their classification in 2013.

The Department of Finance told the Senate the 30 current staffers receiving extra pay ­included chiefs of staff, advisers and government and non-government personal staff.

“In accordance with established practice across successive governments and obligations under the Privacy Act 1988, Finance does not provide details of employment arrangements for individual employees,” the department said.

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney said the revelations highlighted how “completely out of touch” the government was with working Australians.

“Instead of bending over backwards to give highly paid executive staffers even more money, the Turnbull Government should focus on the wages of everyday working Australians,” she said.

Mr O’Connor said yesterday that wage growth in public sector and private workplace pay agreements was ­historically low and accused the government of failing to address the problem.

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