New Speaker Dan Cregan to donate pay boost to local charities, organisations

Newly minted Speaker Dan Cregan has announced he will donate his $150,000 pay boost to charities and organisations in his Adelaide Hills electorate.

Newly-installed Speaker Dan Cregan has declared he will not pocket his $150,000 pay rise and will instead donate it to local charities and volunteer organisations.

In a bid to quell criticism of a perceived money grab, Mr Cregan – who has steadfastly maintained he took on the Speakership for the betterment of his community – on Monday announced he would not keep the bonus from his new job.

The Adelaide Hills-based MP’s salary soared to $352,056 a year when he become Speaker during a late-night coup in state parliament last week. Before that, Mr Cregan’s backbencher salary sat at $201,175.

“I’ll be looking to donate my salary boost to good local causes like Lions Hearing Dogs in Verdun, Rotary and the CFS Foundation, in the hope they might be able to channel the donation to things like defibrillators at local sporting clubs, equipment for CFS crews or swags for those sleeping rough,” he said.

Newly elected speaker Dan Cregan during Question Time at Parliament House last week. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The Kavel MP came under fire last week as Premier Steven Marshall questioned how his rapid rise to the Speakership would benefit his community, suggesting Mr Cregan was putting his own self-interest ahead of his electorate.

Liberal MP Adrian Pederick did not mince his words when describing Mr Cregan’s move to the Speaker’s chair as “the biggest dog act I’ve ever seen” while fellow backbencher Carolyn Power suggested “it comes from a place of ego”.

Mr Cregan on October 8 told Mr Marshall and other Liberal colleagues he was quitting the Party to become an independent MP, claiming it was due to the government’s inaction to address the Hills’ traffic woes.

The defection plunged the state government deeper into minority.

Mr Cregan last week stated he would also not use a chauffeured car – another perk bestowed upon Speakers – and would instead continue to drive his 2010 50th anniversary Ford Falcon.

Responding to Mr Cregan’s decision to donate his pay ride, Mr Marshall said the now-independent MP was under an “enormous amount of pressure”.

“There’s been a lot of calls into his office expressing their disappointment in the way he has acted I think, I think this was the only course he could take,” he said.

Mr Cregan said there had been “almost no calls to the office on the issue of salary”, but said there had been calls about issues such as ambulance services in the Hills, the need for a new hospital in Mount Barker and rail transport to the Hills.

On Friday, The Advertiser revealed Mr Cregan had deployed a bargaining chip for his Hills infrastructure pitch by leaving open the possibility of rejoining the Liberal Party.

Speaking at Mt Barker’s football and cricket clubrooms, Mr Cregan said he would not “rule anything in or out” on rejoining the Liberals, even before the March 2022 election.

Originally published as New Speaker Dan Cregan to donate pay boost to local charities, organisations