The cost of living crisis is impacting all Australians — which is why it sure is good for the members of Australia’s Federal Parliament that their pay is increasing on July 1. However, would they manage on the mere hundreds of thousands a year they were on before?
Starting next month, Federal MPs will receive a pay increase of 3.5 per cent, which brings the base salary for a politician up to a measly $233,650 (from the even more pathetic $225,742). Is that all? Gosh, that’s barely enough for a yacht!
As well as most MPs getting an extra $7.9K a year, some of the higher-up members of Parliament get even bigger pay raises.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon earn $607,500 a year (previously $586,950). Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton will rake in a new salary of $432,250 (previously $417,640).
Boy, it sure is good that they have those extra tens of thousands of dollars! I was worried they would freeze in their investment properties!
Thankfully this decision to give a pay raise to the people who need it most (heavy sarcasm) was not made by the politicians themselves, but the independent Remuneration Tribunal.
The Tribunal released a statement pointing out that this decision to increase the salary of MPs by 3.5 per cent was actually giving politicians a pay cut in terms of real wages, due to the fact inflation means the wage price index rose by 4.1 per cent.
Additionally, the Tribunal defended the decision by stating that politicians needed to be paid a “competitive and equitable” salary so that the role would “attract and retain people of calibre.”
“Many of these office holders do not expect or require that monetary compensation for their roles in the public sector be set at private sector levels,” stated the Remuneration Tribunal.
“Rather, office holders serve for the public good and the opportunity to influence economic and social policy initiatives.”
Ahh yes, influence economic policy. Like all that work that is being done to fix the climate crisis.
Or the housing crisis.
Or the cost of living crisis.
You get the idea.
[Image: Getty]
