Thats hilarious street talk, whether he said it or not its well worthy of attributing to the PM.
This ongoing issue of politicians pay always irks me insomuch as it seems to me that the correct balance has already been struck. Barnaby is correct to say you have to pay a competitive salary to draw quality people but where he gets off track is the idea that you're competing with CEO land.
Politicians are rightly drawn from all walks life including small business, unions, academia, the military, law fraternity and the list goes on. At the end of the day, its a choice these people make to stand for election because they believe they have something to contribute, its then up to us the voters to decide whether they're right.
This is about the last area of our system we need to fix, it nice that politicians are conscious of the issue and from time to time try to look good and I've always been impressed when a politician who has sued some character or other hands the money over to charity (sure I know he gets the tax benefit).
