Yes $127,000 maybe less than some politicians could earn if they...

Yes $127,000 maybe less than some politicians could earn if they went to private enterprise

But it is also a lot more than many Australians earn and they have to pay mortgages, medical expenses, school fees and all the normal expenses that families have



Business, Opposition shun wage freezeBy Maria Hawthorne, Catherine Best and Tim Dornin
February 15, 2008 05:45pm

BIG business groups have rejected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's call for a wage freeze for executives.

Federal opposition MPs are furious that Mr Rudd has frozen their salary for the next 16 months in an effort to contain inflation.

Former minister Tony Abbott says politicians are struggling to make ends meet on a backbencher's base salary of $127,060.pe``We have mortgages to pay, in many cases we have school fees, we have medical expenses, we have all the normal expenses that families have, and the only source of meeting those expenses is our parliamentary salaries,'' Mr Abbott said.

And Australian Democrats senator Andrew Murray described it as an empty, pollie-bashing gesture unless it was matched by real action, including a similar freeze on public service salaries.
But state politicians are considering matching the federal freeze.

Federal Labor MPs agreed yesterday to forgo their annual pay rise when the Remuneration Tribunal makes its ruling mid-year.

Mr Rudd and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard called on the corporate world to follow their lead, amid fears rising inflation will push interest rates up again within weeks.

Ms Gillard said all areas of the community should exercise wage restraint, but said those on high salaries could afford to bear the pain more than struggling families.

"The people who are doing a bit better are the people who can best sustain restraint and obviously many chief executives in our community do very well indeed and consequently the message to them is pretty clear,'' Ms Gillard told Fairfax Media Network.

"We expect everybody - unions, employers, corporate Australia, MPs themselves, everybody right across the community - to be participating in showing restraint in helping us beat this inflationary challenge.''

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) said it was unrealistic to expect companies to attract the best executives without paying the best rates.

"If we want the best and brightest from around the world to come to Australia and to provide real value to the Australian corporate sector then the market place is going to require some very large salaries to be paid from time to time,'' ACCI workplace policy director Peter Anderson told ABC radio.

Recruitment firm Lloyd Morgan said pay packages were driven by the market and remuneration would be higher in booming sectors such as mining and construction with a shortage of skilled candidates.

"The greater the shortage, the higher the salaries will be,'' Lloyd Morgan national manager Greg Smith said.

But South Australian Premier Mike Rann urged corporate leaders to follow the federal example, especially the major banks.

Mr Rann said he fully endorsed Mr Rudd's decision, which will flow onto SA MPs with their wage increases tied directly to the federal rate.

"My view is that it would be terrific if the leaders of the major banks announced that they would follow suit,'' Mr Rann told AAP.

Victorian Premier John Brumby will discuss state MPs' wages on his return from overseas next week.

Last year, Victorian MPs limited their pay rise to 3.25 per cent rise when federal MPs were awarded 6.7 per cent.

Senior Victorian minister Lynne Kosky would not say if she supported a freeze, calling it a decision for Mr Brumby and state cabinet.

"But we did operate within government wages policy last year when other jurisdictions, including the federal government, I think, got a 6.7 per cent wages increase,'' she said.

"I think it was entirely appropriate that we operated within government wages policy.''


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