Put politicians on worker's wage
Politicians are massively overpaid. The starting salary of a Victorian MP is more than $210,000 – putting them in the top 4 percent of Australia’s income “earners”. The government calls this a “basic salary” because there’s tens of thousands more for those who grab positions such as a parliamentary committee chair. Ministers get more than $390,000, putting them in the top 1 percent! The result is that parliament attracts careerists and grifters more interested in making life better for themselves and other elites than making life better for working-class people and our communities. If politicians had to live like the rest of us, maybe they’d think differently about the decisions they make in parliament.
What we think
- Political representatives should not form a separate class of society.
- The economic interests of our political representatives should align with those of the majority.
We’ll fight to
- Make the ’basic salary’ of all members of parliament no more than a 6th year nurse ($96,000) with all increases pegged to the nurses Award.
- Abolish all ’additional salaries’ on top of the ’basic salary’, such as the extra $236,525 received by the premier.
- Make all MPs divest themselves of any and all direct stock market or other financial and trading market investments as a condition of taking office.
- Make all MPs divest themselves of any residential properties in excess of two as a condition of taking office and ban them from collecting rent on any other properties.
- Ban MPs from taking board positions in listed companies or political lobbying roles for ten years after leaving office.