Australian federal politicians are about to receive their biggest pay rise in a decade
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Australian federal politicians are about to receive their biggest pay rise in a decade.
From tomorrow (September 1), the people elected to lead our country will get a gorgeous little bump in their monthly pay.
According to The Guardian, the independent remuneration tribunal decided our politicians should be treated to a 4 per cent increase.
A backbench MP can now expect to make around $225,742 per year, compared to the $217,060 they were previously getting.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will get a juicy jump.
His pay is expected to go up to $587,000 as his salary is 160 per cent higher than your average MP.
The move was announced earlier this week and the tribunal says the pay jump is due the 'conservative' increases that have been handed out in the past.
"The Tribunal is aware the remuneration increases it has awarded to offices in its jurisdiction over the past decade have been conservative," it 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.
"In contrast, remuneration increases more generally in the public and private sectors (based on overall June WPI data from 2014 - 2023) have equated to 23 per cent."
It added in its assessment: "In conducting its review of remuneration, the Tribunal takes account of economic conditions in Australia, past and projected movements in remuneration in the private and public sectors (including the APS), as well as the outcomes of reviews of public offices completed by the Tribunal.
"In order to inform its conclusions, the Tribunal draws upon sources such as the published material available from the Government, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the ABS as well as trends in public and private sector remuneration."
When asked about the pay increase, Anthony Albanese said it was out of his hands.
"[The] remuneration tribunal decides all these things at arm’s length from politicians and that’s as it should be," he explained in Adelaide.
“I have no role in any of these processes.
"And that’s as it should be, you do not want politicians determining their own conditions.”
The pay increase also applies to public sector workers, which kicked in on July 1, however federal politicians will get their tomorrow.
Featured Image Credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images. PAUL CROCK/AFP via Getty Images.
Topics: Australia
