If you’re feeling the pinch of the cozzie livs crisis you might want to look away because our Aussie politicians have just copped a hearty pay rise. Excuse me while I absent myself for a moment to gently weep into my hands. Word on the street is that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his pollie contemporaries are set to receive a 4 per cent increase to their salaries in what is being reported as the biggest wage increase in almost a decade.
While most Aussies are delving deeper into the red thanks to inflation, the rental and housing crises and the general cost of living, Albo is set to bump up to a $586,768 annual pay packet effective from September 1.
His new salary adds another $22,568 to his existing stipend which is an eye-watering figure that is sure to make plenty of everyday citizens quite emo.
Elsewhere Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will take home $432,860 and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong will receive $423,277 annually.
The governing body which determines the wages for those in public office, the Remuneration Tribunal, made the announcement yesterday and assured the public these figures could have jumped even higher. Lol, cheers.
“The Tribunal is aware that the remuneration increases it has awarded to offices in its jurisdiction over the past decade have been conservative,’’ a spokesman said in a statement.
“Including the current decision to apply a 4 per cent increase to all offices in its jurisdiction, the cumulative total of remuneration increases awarded by the Tribunal since 2014 amounts to 14.75 per cent.”
Given Albo is in the top job you’d be naive to think he isn’t receiving a salary befitting of such a role. But despite that, these wage increases will be sure to ruffle some feathers especially in the context of Aussies under the pump with the rise in electricity bills, groceries and rent.
Not to go all Karl Marx on your ass but this is but an important reminder that in times of economic crisis, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. See you in the baked beans aisle, friends.
