Sorry ex-premier, I’m not paying for your lunch

Old Man Emu says:

08:02am | 22/05/12

The fact of the matter is Australian politicians are grossly underpaid. In fact, they generally earn less than those advising them. In order to attract more talent to parliament (not just union hacks and failed lawyers), we should be offering pollies more benefits not less. Otherwise the country’s best leaders will do what they are doing today and remain in the private sector where they are more generously compensated for their efforts.

Jane2 says:

08:41am | 22/05/12

Its a job that has no prereq skills so 18yo kids can win it (as was the case in the last election when 1 won a seat!). That require nothing beyond Australian citizenship. They dont even need to pass a security check.

Taking all that on board its probably the most over paid 100% unskilled position in the country.

Paying more wont attract better since they are already paid more than what over 50% of Australians earn and yet these unskilled jobs are not attractive to the general population.

$80,000pa for 24 weeks of attending the office, not even having to turn up to class (ie sit in the actual room), subsidised housing, transport and office. Are you really saying they are not paid enough?!

Borderer says:

08:57am | 22/05/12

The fact that Gillard will get more to be an ex-Prime Minister than a serving one indicates that there is more reward to be booted than to be hardworking.

Woodsy says:

09:43am | 22/05/12

As much as the notion of paying pollies more seems incongruous, Old Man Emu is spot on. Many of the most brilliant minds in Australian industry don’t go into politics because they can earn two, three, four times as much in the private sector. So that leaves us with what we have now.

But whilst the remuneration whilst IN the job could be made more attractive, I still fail to see why perks such as this are ongoing once they are out of a Parliamentary job.

Anon says:

10:01am | 22/05/12

@Jane2

Having worked for several of them, I can vouch for the fact that minister or backbencher, senator or member, they never really stop working. It is a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year job, regardless of how much time they actually spend in the House.

Would you rather attract the best talent or the meh talent?

That being said, the number of after-job perks for NSW Premiers is ludicrous.

Kath says:

10:14am | 22/05/12

Other NSW ex-Premiers are Barry Unsworth, John Fahey, Morris Iemma, Nathan Rees, Kristina Keneally.  Two are still in Parliament.  I think the Premiers before Wran have all died.  After all, Wran became Premier in 1976.

Wran, Greiner and Carr were in office for longer than any of the other exes hence they get the full package.  Keneally and Rees are still in Parliament - they already have an office and staff as they are MPs.

Blind Freddy says:

09:42am | 22/05/12

I’m guessing you answered your own question?

Jane2 says:

08:47am | 22/05/12

Only increase their salaries if we include pre-requisites for the job. Things like, must have run an organisation employing over 20 people for a period greater than 5 years and have never gone bankrupt.

Scarily these fairly simple prereqs which you would want anyone who was in even middle management to have, would probably see only 2 people in the entire 100 plus at Federal level able to hold their seats.
Our PM doesnt even qualify.

Scotchfinger says:

09:05am | 22/05/12

Plato thought that politicians and those who served the polity should not be paid at all, at least not directly. This in order to distinguish those who engaged ethically and intellectually with the city-state, from those who were mere working plebs. And something to be said for ensuring that MPs do not lose contact with the working lives of their constituents. However I agree that the taxpayer pays for the enormou$ salaries of company directors without a murmur, yet expect MPs to work around the clock virtually for free. I think this says more about our attitude towards politicians than a reasoned stance.

Chris says:

09:56am | 22/05/12

@Jane2
Actually I looked at your comment and I thought “that’s a great idea”.

But then as I worked it through, it starts to impede on democratic principles doesn’t it?  The fact is that the people these days select the prime minister (I know technically that is not the case, but in reality people have a tendancy to vote the PM rather than vote the local candidate).

How does such criteria mesh with democracy?

@Scotchfinger
Good luck getting that one passed, my friend… “I would like to move that we all accept a wage of $0 - please make it a conscience vote too”.

More seriously - don’t forget in Plato’s time the class system that was in place was very different in terms of how working for your living was viewed than it is now. 

C

Jane2 says:

09:59am | 22/05/12

According to the Australian constitution the wage of a politician is to make up the wages lost from them being away from their core business, that is all politicians are meant to have a primary job and their elected position is their second job.

When you consider they are technically workingon 24 weeks a year as a politician they have enough weeks left to keep their primary jobs going if they chose. Some do, most dont.

Just because the person choses not to continue with their pre-election job does not mean their part time electoral job should compensate for their decision.

Bomb78 says:

10:36am | 22/05/12

Scothfinger: not sure where you get the ‘enormous’ salary of a director from - CEO’s might get enormous pay, but directors rarely do, and they carry the personal risk of going to jail if something goes astray - and the reason that payments were introduced for politicians was to ensure it wasn’t just the landed gentry that could serve. Without paying them only the rich could afford to serve - Clive Palmer or Gina Rinehart for PM?

Gymmer says:

10:52am | 22/05/12

Politicians do not just work 24 weeks of the year when the house is sitting. They do actually have stuff going on in their electorates and if they are Ministers they are always on the go. I’ve seen this all first hand (and no I’m not employed by a politician.)

Jeremy says:

12:27pm | 22/05/12

Singapore has very successfully ran a technocrat government for some time now, and salaries range from about US$1 million for the back bench to US$2 - 2.5 million for main portfolio holders.
All sitting members have experience running big firms before being selected to be eligible for election. I would be very happy for Australia to have a similar system.
@ Scotchfinger - If you’re going to use silly ideas from Aristocles at least have the decency to use his real name.

Chris L says:

02:22pm | 22/05/12

Not all experience should come from running a business. After all, it is not the government’s task to run a profit, it is to use taxes to provide services that the private sector does not cover (or would not cover equitably).

Rose says:

10:22am | 22/05/12

Politicians with any amount of seniority work bloody hard, harder than most. They are accountable for everything they say, a slip of the tongue today is online in minutes and headlines the next day, and will be dragged up again and again any time the other side finds it convenient. The deal with personal scrutiny which is not only intrusive it is often unrelenting. Any mistake or brief dalliance with the wrong person in teenage/early adult years can haunt them and possibly, many years later, derail an otherwise promising career. Their families suffer the indignity of having their spouse or parent dragged through the court of public opinion (often without access to all the facts), and hey have little right of reply.
We may not have a terribly esteemed bunch of pollies at the moment, but I think that has more to do with the job becoming more and more stressful and poorly rewarded than ever before.

Chris L says:

02:24pm | 22/05/12

If the job were that cushy for how it pays perhaps you’d like to give it a try Peter.

Scotchfinger says:

09:51am | 22/05/12

you replaced the charming, capable Mrs Keneally with a pompous, committee-delegating, BMW-driving fathead who couldn’t make a decision if it was handed to him with gift wrapping. I know who I’d rather support. You assume the mass electorate always makes the right decision? These are people who vote Master Chef as most popular TV. Something to be said for dismantling democracy and replacing with a dictatorship.

Rose says:

12:28pm | 22/05/12

Ex PMs and other politicians are sometimes called upon to perform public duties after their political careers are over. My solution would be to ensure politicians are well remunerated during their time in office and then after they leave office create a government department that co-ordinate duties for ex-politicians. For example if Paul Keating or John Howard were to be called upon to attend a function or give a speech, the department would organize flights and accommodation etc for that event rather than just handing over cash as an allowance. They wouldn’t need their own offices or staff as the department would be there to assist them. Maybe for the first 6 months out of office they should get government support to tie up loose ends with regard to work commenced before the elections, even if it’s only secretarial support to draft letters about cancellation of projects, or thanking bodies for support and referring them on to the new government personnel. Goodwill type of stuff.
The Commonwealth (or State for ex-Premiers etc)  needs to ensure ex-politicians are remunerated for anything they do that supports the Government of the day but we don’t need to pay for individual offices etc for ll of them.

Garry says:

12:29pm | 22/05/12

Scotchfinger… The mass electorate did make the right decision getting rid of the Blonde bimbo who lead a corupt and totally incompetent Labor gov’t who sending NSW back to the dark ages with mounting debt. Also look at Canberra and you will see that democracy has been replaced by a communist atheist dictator already, who has imposed censorship laws on the media and killed off free speech, so there you have it, the Australian voters will in the end punish politicians who think the public are are fools ! ...... Just like the will at the next election, ask Kenneally & Bligh for starters.

Rose says:

01:12pm | 22/05/12

“...you will see that democracy has been replaced by a communist atheist dictator already, who has imposed censorship laws on the media and killed off free speech”.  If that was really the case how do you explain that this comment was published and you have not been packed off to a work camp some where?
Drama Queen much?

andye says:

01:33pm | 22/05/12

@Garry - “Also look at Canberra and you will see that democracy has been replaced by a communist atheist dictator already, who has imposed censorship laws on the media and killed off free speech”

You insult every person who has suffered under a genuinely evil regime with your ridiculous ignorant comments. Are you being stopped from criticizing the government now? Has Labor declared marshal law and cancelled all future elections?

Most Australians wouldn’t know true hardship and lack of freedom if it fell on their head.

Martin says:

03:52pm | 22/05/12

So why are so many people not supporting a DIRECT DEMOCRACY a la Switzerland in which only the people are sovereign by having the same legal democratic right to call a referendum to modify or repeal any phoney laws as we have ???????

Garry says:

06:02pm | 22/05/12

@ Andye, Rose .... The Punch is probably the only media available who has the balls to publish my free speech, try and get any negative comments published on other sites, but of course I assumed too much, I thought that you could understand I was not saying that I would be placed in a ” Gulag “, but most people apart from Labor supporter sheep do know that Gillard set up a minister & deptment to oversee censorship on media publications, but what I do find unbelievable is that there are still foolish sheep who can not see what pathetic failures Rudd, Gillard & Labor have been after their compounding moronic decisions costing billions, loss of lives, destruction of border protection, low morals and blatantly lying to the Australian people. So why would anyone want to support reward failures when kicked out of office is beyond belief. No I have never lived under a repressive regime, because I remained in my country like many many others here to make sure we write and fight for our rights, it’s easy to just jump to another country and leave the fighting to others. ( All this is getting a bit off topic )

Little Joe says:

07:29pm | 22/05/12

@ Garry

For what it is worth, I agree!!!

Yeah, the axe gets wielded on occasion ..... but those people with Arts Degrees don’t like us being overly critical.

Garry says:

08:28am | 23/05/12

ANDYE says:  ” Most Australians wouldn’t know true hardship and lack of freedom if it fell on their head ” .... I assume you are trying to imply that you are a special case and have suffered ? Well what an extremely ungrateful person you are, to make this comment about the people of a country you came too, what about ” Gallipoli “, ” Vietnam ” etc etc, who fought and died to protect Australia and give you the right to free speech, they did not cut and run from a battle, and hard working taxpayers who support refugees through taxes. There is nothing worse than a migrant or refugee who comes to Australia to take all the benefits and then insults true loyal Australians, as they say, Love Australia or Leave Australia, your choice, because Australians made it so !