Victorian Treaty Authority: Umpires could receive almost $400K a year

Jacinta Allan has backed paying “independent umpires” salaries of almost $400k a year to oversee Treaty negotiations, saying Victorians would approve of the hefty pay packets.

Premier Jacinta Allan had defended the government’s decision to pay Treaty negotiators an hefty sum of almost $400,000 per year.

The Herald Sun revealed on Monday that members of the Treaty Authority panel selected to negotiate with Elders and the Indigenous Community could be paid a salary of up to $380,000 per year plus expenses if they worked full time.

The Herald Sun can reveal the members of the Treaty Authority panel picked to negotiate with Elders and the Indigenous community, will have a salary of $380,000 a year if they work full time — plus expenses.

The pay packets of the referees – who will be officially named today – have been labelled “alarming” and “way out of step with community expectations”.

Senator Jacinta Price was among those to slam the move. She warned it would cause further division in the community after the failed Voice referendum.

Senator Jacinta Price says the move could cause more division in the community. Picture: Martin Ollman

“It is unbelievable that at a time when Australian families are struggling with the cost of housing, food and fuel the Victorian Labor government are going to spend two million dollars a year on dividing Australians further,” she said.

“How can the Labor government look struggling Victorians in the eye and justify this utterly ridiculous waste of money?”

But on Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan defended the government’s generous pay package, saying she thought the panel only worked part-time.

When asked if $190,000 for six months work — more than double the average Australian full-time salary and the same as a Victorian MP’s full-time salary — passed the pub test, Ms Allan claimed regular Victorians would approve.

“As you would expect, for people to undertake this work, they do need to come with experience,” she said.

“They need to come with a skill set and they need to come with intellect and intelligence, and that is exactly why people with that skill set should be remunerated appropriately.”

“I’m not going to speak for all regular Victorians, but I would think that is what most regular Victorians would expect.”

The Premier said she had been advised that the members would not receive the full $380,000.

“My advice is that the people are being paid a sessional rate,” she said.

She said the $380,000 did “not add up to the amount of days that they would be working.”

“My advice is that the sessional rate implies that they’re not full-time, full-time, but that they will be remunerated accordingly.”

Premier Jacinta Allan earns more than $400k. Picture: Ian Currie

The appointment of the panellists also comes as the Victorian government is slashing thousands of jobs from the public sector in order to reduce the state’s ballooning debt.

Opposition Aboriginal Affairs spokesman Peter Walsh said “these pay packets are nearly as much as the Victorian Premier’s wage and more than an elected minister”.

“While Victorians struggle with Labor’s cost of living crisis, the government is creating new positions that are clearly not in step with the expectations of hardworking Victorians.

“Premier Jacinta Allan must tell Victorians why such generous salaries are justified,” Mr Walsh said.

The current Treaty Authority pay packet, which are understood to be $380,000 plus expenses, are on par with the salary of an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, which is $387,125.

It’s five times the average wage of a registered nurse and even higher than the remuneration for the Deputy State Coroner which sits at $354,183.

As of July Ms Allan as the highest paid state leader earns $421,190 – not including expenses.

While cabinet ministers each receive about $380,000.

A government spokesperson told the herald Sun the pay was in line with expectations, but not all of the panellists would work full-time.

“Consistent with the bipartisan Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Act 2022, the Panellists are paid a daily or half daily rate in accordance with the Appointment and Remunerations Guidelines, as they are not full time roles,” they said.

No detail was provided on individual pro-rata contracts.

It’s understood the plan to pay the five panellists similar to a department executive was decided independently of the state government with the deal signed off by the First People’s Assembly board as part of the Treaty Authority Agreement in 2022.

The wages will be paid out of the $65m self determination fund allotted by the state government to commence negotiations.

In 2018, the Andrews government enacted Australia’s first Treaty legislation which led to the establishment of the Authority Treaty negotiations are expected to commence by the end of the year.

A First Peoples Assembly of Victoria spokesperson said the Treaty Authority was a significant independent body and that the best people were needed for the job.” It’s going to be important to have respected and trusted keepers of wisdom who can guide us on the shared journey to Treaty and help resolve disputes,” they said.” We’ve got to make sure we have the best people for these vital roles and the salary is commensurate with other positions.”