MP Pay Increases

The Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2005 has been released. This is an annual determination backdated to 1 July 2005. The new salaries for MPs are:

PM – Clark $347,000
DPM – Cullen – $245,000
Cabinet Ministers – $216,000
Ministers outside Cabinet – Peters, Dunne – $183,000
Speaker – Wilson – $216,000
Deputy Speaker – Simich – $152,000
Asst Speakers – Robertson, Hartley – $130,000
Leader of Oppn – Brash – $216,000
Minor Party Leaders
Fitzsimons – $138,100
Turia – $134,860
Hide – $131,620
Deputy Ldr Oppn – Brownlee – $158,000
Whips:
Barnett – $162,525
Tisch – $158,000
Brown – $131,085
Turei, Copeland, Roy – $130,000
Hughes, Tolley – $130,000
Select Cmte Chairs – $130,000
Select Cmte Dep Chairs – $122,000
MPs – $118,000

Now out of the 50 Labour MPs, how many do not have some job paying extra?

Just seven. Two brand new MPs – Fenton and Moroney. Four sacked or resigned Ministers/Whips – Field, Hawkins, Pettis and Swain. so that leaves only one second term Labour MP who has not got a position of some responsibility. And that is Mr Russell Fairbrother.

Incidentally I agree with Rodney Hide that the pay reviews should only be every three years. I fully support MPs getting paid what they get paid. But they always get berated for giving themselves a payrise, so why not take the heat out of it, and just have the pay scales set three months before an election, so people know what the MPs will get for that term of Parliament. With inflation relatively low, salaries can be set for three years taking into account likely inflation over that period.