MP pay boost: One-off pay hikes of up to $300,000 a year for bureaucrats opens up moves to raise pay packets of Federal Members.
One-off pay hikes of up to $300,000 a year have been approved for high-ranking bureaucrats. Picture: Supplied Source: Herald Sun
FEDERAL politicians could be set for extraordinary pay rises, with the salaries of backbenchers tipped to almost double to $250,000.
Writing exclusively in The Daily Telegraph today, columnist Laurie Oakes said MPs expected backbencher and senator base salaries to rise $110,000 from $140,000.
The Prime Minister's, ministers' and shadow ministers' even bigger paypackets may also rise in line.
The Federal Remuneration Tribunal is expected to make an initial report on political perks before the end of the year, with politicians expecting to trade extra payments such as allowances for bigger personal pay packets.
Any pay rise would likely trigger anger among unions, already unhappy about revelations this week the Tribunal was set to award five key top federal public servants pay rises of $250,000 to $300,000 - taking the chiefs of Defence and Customs, the Tax Commissioner, Auditor-General and the Australian Statistician to $800,000.
MPs receive a raft of handouts on top of their salaries including electorate allowances of up to $50,000, printing allowances of $75,000, a resettlement allowance when they lose office and post-career perks such as life gold passes for free domestic travel.
Ms Gillard, who earns $366,366, could earn as much as $650,000 under any new system, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's $259,000 could rise to $479,000.
The Tribunal would not say whether any rises would flow on to state and local governments, as can occur with annual rises.
This week increases to NSW MPs' pay and entitlements were capped at 2.5 per cent.
Community and Public Sector Union assistant national secretary Louise Persse said such big pay rises were not a good look when its members were being told to accept pay rises of 3 per cent.
"There is no doubt that our public service heads and politicians work hard and should be paid appropriately," she said.
"However, for the thousands of public sector staff across Australia on modest incomes, these increases may seem a bit rich."
Opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce, who has called for the Prime Minister's salary to top $1 million, backed paying politicians more but said he would be surprised if the rise was so much.
