Independent candidate for
Wannon Robert O’Brien has called for a
cutting of politicians salaries and entitlements, demanding that they
be
brought more into line with those of the average Australian.
Federal politicians
currently receive a base annual salary of $131,040
per year. The average Australian full-time wage is $64,641.
While conceding that
politicians should be putting in long hours
serving their electorate, Mr O’Brien believes that this is an excessive
amount
of pay.
It seems that the
Australian Taxation Office agrees, with the maximum
fortnightly salary listed in its 2010 fortnightly tax table being
$5000, with
tax of $1500. The base political salary works out to $5040 per
fortnight.
“I know several people in
my work environment on a salary of less than
$40,000 for 38 hours per week, who in their management position, are
actually
working 50 to 60 hour weeks to get their job done and avoid trouble
from their
boss,” said Mr O’Brien.
“Not only is this a
indictment on politicians, it is a clear example of
greed on behalf of some employers taking advantage of fixed salaries,
allowing
insufficient hours and staffing for the required work to be performed,”
he
continued.
On top of their salaries,
parliamentarians also receive a $32,000
electorate allowance (more than the minimum wage) meant for
representing their
electorate, 40% of which can be reclaimed through tax deductions. They
also
receive a $230 allowance for each night spent in Canberra.
Parliamentarians also
receive higher superannuation payments. Those
entering parliament from 2004 receive 15% superannuation, while most
Australians
get only 9%.
Benefits also include
Severance Travel which gives, depending on time
served in parliament, up to 25 return free flights per year – and the
Life Time
Gold Pass which gives a lifetime of free travel for the
ex-parliamentarian and
their spouse.
Ex-Prime Ministers are
eligible for extra benefits, including cars,
drivers, an office and travel. For 2007-2008, the cost for five ex
Prime
Ministers was $2,004,657. John Howard had bills of $8560 a week after
losing office
in November 2007 until June 2008.
“When you leave a normal
job, you don’t get your super until you
retire. They don’t give you free holidays every year, and they don’t
let you
come back and use the office for your own purposes. I don’t see why
politicians
should be any different. We need to highlight the ‘ex’ in
ex-parliamentarian,”
Mr O’Brien said.
“It is important to
remember that payment of politicians was introduced
to allow working class people to represent their fellow citizens at a
time when
only the wealthy could afford to do so.
It wasn’t meant to give politicians a good income. Many
politicians are
already wealthy in their own right and will have no problem getting a
good job
after their term is up,” said Mr O’Brien.
“You should enter politics to make a change, to make the lives
of all
Australians better. Unfortunately, party politics has resulted in
‘Career
Politicians’ who see it as a cushy job.”