Well, well well, what do we have here? Politicians were just given their largest pay rise in a decade while we’re all freezing, can’t afford to drive anywhere and are living off legumes.
The Remuneration Tribunal has awarded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and all MPs a 2.75 per cent pay rise which means on July 1 the PM’s salary will go from $549,250 to $564,000 PLUS the nearly $2 million he gets a year in travel and meal allowances.
The base salary of an MP will go from $211,250 to $217,060. Dutton will earn about $401,000 and Adam Bandt about $315,000 as the leader of a minority party with more than 10 representatives in parliament.
It’s the biggest pay increase pollies have had since 2012 when they got 3 per cent. The annual pay rise has usually been around 2 per cent, but salaries were frozen in the last three years because of the pandemic.
“The tribunal notes the resilience of the Australian economy and the stronger than expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
“In reaching its decision, the tribunal was mindful of its history of restrained increases over several years, including no increases since 1 July 2019.”
I guess Albanese was being honest when he promised wage growth.
This decision was made the same day the Fair Work Commission was due to announce whether or not it would lift the minimum wage, which was $20.33 an hour in 2021-22. Kind of a bad look!
Meanwhile, inflation is still rising and not due to slow down any time soon. Interest rates are up, the cost of petrol is still fkn bananas and lettuce is now a luxury product.
