Albo's eye-watering pay rise revealed
Anthony Albanese has received a massive pay rise, along with several other Federal MPs, in the biggest pay rise for politicians in a decade.
The Prime Minister and his deputy Richard Marles have scored a big pay pump which will increase their pay to $586,768 and $432,860 respectively.
The pay increase for all politicians is four percent, which is the heftiest single pay rise in almost 10 years, taking the base salary of a backbencher from $217,000 to $225,680.
Under the changes, Albo will score a $22,568 a year pay rise, while his deputy Richard Marles will score a $16,000 pay rise from September 1st.
The Remuneration Tribunal, the body that determines the pay and entitlements of public office holders, announced the decision on Monday afternoon citing cost of living pressures as one factor for the increase.
“The Tribunal has decided to increase remuneration by 4 per cent for public offices in its jurisdiction. This increase applies from 1 July 2023 for all offices except Federal Members of Parliament (MPs), which applies from 1 September 2023," a spokesman said.
“The Tribunal completed its last review of remuneration for public offices in its jurisdiction in June 2022 and determined an adjustment of 2.75 per cent would apply from 1 July 2022. The Tribunal made no adjustment in the preceding two years."
“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.
Despite the Tribunal's justification for the increase, the news of the pay rise has come at a difficult time for the Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, as revelations emerged that he was booking military planes to pick him up and drop him off at Avalon airport closer to his home in Geelong saving himself a one-hour chauffeur-driven car ride from Melbourne.
The flights are contributing to a staggering $3.6 million bill for Mr Marles’ VIP private plane costs since last year alone.
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