Anthony Albanese scores pay rise as pollies get huge bump

Anthony Albanese’s pay package has received a significant increase as the remuneration of all Federal politicians receive a bump.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pay has jumped to $586,768.

Anthony Albanese and his deputy Richard Marles have scored a big pay pump which will increase their pay to $586,768 and $432,860 respectively.

The pay rise for all politicians is worth 4 per cent and is the largest single increase in nearly a decade, taking the base salary of a backbencher from $217,000 to $225,680.

Under the changes Mr Albanese will score a $22,568 a year pay rise. His deputy Richard Marles will score a $16,000 pay rise from September 1.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pay has jumped to $586,768. Picture: Martin Ollman/Getty Images

The Remuneration Tribunal, the body that determines the pay and entitlements of public office holders, announced the decision on Monday afternoon citing cost of living pressures as one factor.

“The Tribunal has decided to increase remuneration by 4 per cent for public offices in its jurisdiction. This increase applies from 1 July 2023 for all offices except Federal Members of Parliament (MPs), which applies from 1 September 2023,’’ a spokesman said.

“The Tribunal completed its last review of remuneration for public offices in its jurisdiction in June 2022 and determined an adjustment of 2.75 per cent would apply from 1 July 2022. The Tribunal made no adjustment in the preceding two years.

Albo’s pay is small when compared to Alan Joyce — who gets $2.2 million as a base salary plus bonuses. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

The Tribunal said it was obliged to consider the outcome of the Annual Wage Reviews of the Fair Work Commission in its annual review deliberations.

“The Tribunal is aware that the remuneration increases it has awarded to offices in its jurisdiction over the past decade have been conservative,’’ a spokesman said.

“Including the current decision to apply a 4 per cent increase to all offices in its jurisdiction, the cumulative total of remuneration increases awarded by the Tribunal since 2014 amounts to 14.75 per cent.

“In contrast, remuneration increases more generally in the public and private sectors (based on overall June WPI data from 2014 - 2023) have equated to 23 per cent.

In conducting its review of remuneration, the Tribunal said it had taken account of economic conditions in Australia, past and projected movements in remuneration in the private and public sectors, as well as trends in public and private sector remuneration.

“The Tribunal expects that these office holders do not accept appointment on the basis that monetary compensation for their roles in the public sector be set at private sector levels. Rather, in setting remuneration, the Tribunal continues to set rates below those of the private sector in recognition of the public service being provided by the officeholders,’’ a spokesman said.

The pay rise emerged amid revelations Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is booking military planes to pick him up and drop him off at Avalon airport closer to his home in Geelong saving himself a one-hour chauffeur-driven car ride from Melbourne.

The flights are contributing to a staggering $3.6 million bill for Mr Marles’ VIP private plane costs since last year alone.

Publicly available flight tracker information obtained by news.com.au have detailed over 70 RAAF flights in and out of Avalon since March, 2023 alone.

But Mr Marles, who has the power to book the flight for himself and others as Defence Minister, won’t publicly confirm whether some or all of the flights are his own bookings, citing new “security advice”.

Liberal frontbencher Michael Sukkar said the expenditure now needed to be fully investigated.

“It’s a scandal that Richard Marles is spending millions of taxpayer dollars secretly using RAAF jets as a personal chauffeur service,” he told news.com.au.

“A full investigation must be conducted into these secret flights, particularly for those into Avalon Airport.

“While it’s obviously convenient for the Defence Minister getting these private flights into his home airport of Avalon, the RAAF should never be used as a personal service. With commercial flights into Tullamarine Airport being regularly available, he must explain why millions of dollars have been used to fly him in luxury while Australians suffer with a cost of living crisis.”