Political staffers on rise

THE number of public servants working in ministerial offices has increased by 10 per cent in the past six months, new figures show.

Top-paid staff in Will Hodgman’s office can now earn up to $270,000 a year — up from $260,000.

THE number of public servants working in ministerial offices has increased by 10 per cent in the past six months, new figures show.

However, the State Government says staff in ministerial offices, some possibly earning up to $270,000 a year, have maintained restraint by sticking to the public-sector wage policy of 2 per cent.

Figures released by the State Government, under a routine right to information disclosure, show that a number of wage bands for staffin ministerial offices have increased significantly.

The changes mean top-paid staff in Will Hodgman’s office can now earn up to $270,000 a year — up from $260,000.

Top-end staff in ministerial offices have had an increase to the upper end of their pays of between $3454 to $13,512 a year.

The Hodgman Government has committed to publishing the details of ministerial staff pays twice a year for the public to see.

But the details are in wage bands making it impossible to determine exactly how much individual staff are being paid.

A government spokesman said ministerial staff received a 2 per cent salary indexation increase — the same as public servants. This had no impact on the state budget because the salary increases had been already factored in, he said.

“The salary bands have been amended to reflect the salary bands in the public sector. Given that a number of staff in ministerial offices have been seconded from the public sector, it is important that salary bands are consistent.”

Between April and October this year, the number of staff in ministerial offices grew from 80.8 full-time equivalent staff to 89.5 in October.

Budget documents show support for ministerial staff is steadily increasing, rising from $18.65 million in 2015-16 to $20.22 million in 2017-18 when the next State Election is to be held — a rise of 8.46 per cent.

The government spokesman said the number of advisers fluctuated.

“Numerous vacancies have been filled recently,” he said.

Originally published as Political staffers on rise