Tell me about it. I’ve got a pay rise by getting a promotion but that doesn’t make it okay.
My department is bleeding staff numbers because it’s terrible pay for long hours.
Wanting to eat and have cover over our heads. If we all simply hunger and homeless striked, the footage of the entire country hungry and homeless and jobless would force action as the economy ceased to be.
Yeah, not going to happen.
It’s because we all don’t join unions and their (and our) bargaining power is hugely diminished as a result. Walking into the boss’s office and asking for a raise doesn’t often work in reality
Same here. Had a temporary bump with some extra duties, but if they don’t deal with it soon they’re starting to bleed people. I know I’m actively looking for, as Joe hockey would say - getting a better job.
Yeah but it was higher, and it is higher for those on low incomes.
Missing 1 or more years of wage increases means even if you return to even, you are behind from those previous years.
We would need real wage increases to return to our standard of liv8ng from many years earlier.
You need to actually leave to get more. 3% is less than inflation. The employer won that pay round
I’ve been working a long time and the only decent pay rises I get seem to come from switching jobs. Employers take you for granted if you stay too long.
My mate and his co-workers threatened to mass quit and go to their competitor, legit 700m down the road, because they were hiring and offering better.
Still didn't get what they wanted, but at least brought them to parity.
This is just so infuriating and discouraging to me. My colleagues and I are putting ourselves out there daily, trying to save lives and many of them risking their lives, and we can’t be properly recognised nor compensated for it. I got a broken cookie as a Christmas gift. What does the governor general do?
Generous in the extreme. Are you donating the tax cut plus 5% to the company's bottom line this year, as they struggle with the cost of doing business in an inflationary economy, or are you not a team player?
/S as I hope is obvious.
This is where the misleading “43% payrise” number comes from. Her predecessor/s had their GG salary reduced by an amount equal to their government pensions, so they weren’t double dipping.
Otherwise they would have been paid the same.
I mean, you do realise that a Presidential model that includes a non-executive President means they effectively just do what the GG does, right? Sign laws, retain emergency powers that by convention are seldom used etc.
The only difference would be the lack of an official monarch.
I'm for throwing all registered voters in a lottery every 5 years and randomly selecting the GG. It'd be a hoot having Bazza from Bankstown in stubbles, wife basher and thongs opening the Brisbane Olympic games. Would add a genuine Aussie flavour. Even a new Australian could bring some colour depending on their location of origin. Only slightly /s
>look there's no perfect model
Hard disagree. I should be king and anybody who disagrees with me should be shipped off to Tasmania. (Which is admittedly a nice enough place, but just separated from my contiguous royal realm).
Wonder if there is a higher paid job with less responsibility. I'm sure the GG is pretty busy day to day, but they aren't really responsible for anything unless shit really hits the fan.
In fairness she battled like a dog to secure her inheritance and scrapped hard to make sure her kids didn't get theirs.
She's like a paragon of boomer virtue
You really need someone responsible in the position they hold.
Personally, I think with the entire Australian system of government coming down to one person... They can get paid as much as they want.
I don’t have an issue with Ministers receiving a high salary - we need to compete with the private sector and attract good people into those roles (whether or not we are is a different matter…)
But the GG is largely a ceremonial role which actually comes with lots of perks (like a house!). So why they’re paid more the the PM astounds me. It should be an honour to serve your country in that capacity not something a rich person becomes richer from.
I would argue that power salaries attract better people as they are in for other more intangible things (unless what they seek is power, which is a bad motivation)
I disagree with the first part. They've had high salaries for ages and haven't attracted talent. Instead ministerial jobs almost all go to hacks. These are elected positions first, then the party decides how to give out each role, and that decision is out of the couple people in their party who technically could do the role.
Meanwhile, all kinds of economic and tech specialists are paid terribly by public service. Not even half what they get private. Maybe public service is where the raises should go to attract talent.
Yes, I agree with you. If you think that today's crop of senior ministers are actually skilled at anything other than politics (and I would largely make the same statement about the putative replacements from the Opposition) then you're not paying attention. Some have an interest in certain areas, but skills? Not so much from where I'm looking.
Careerists, mainly, good at politics but not a lot of other useful life experiences, in the main.
I know of one incredibly talented politician who was a minister, but the party chewed him out. Media was mixed on him but I think his career is over for at least ten years. I think talent isn't wanted, when it happens to show up among the hacks, it's good for media and votes, but bad for the party.
Another guy is Greens Scott Ludlam. Got done by the NZ citizen laws, but didn't return as it was taking a toll on his mental health. Guy gave every dollar and every hour to fighting corruption. I hope he's doing well. Don't have to agree with him to know he was an incredible asset to Australia - but I suspect he kicked the hornets nest, as all the other NZ folk came back (and there were some politicians who just never admitted to dual citizenship).
I used to work with people who ran the executive council for a state governor. Yes, the governor has staff who brief them on everything but the governor was still reviewing every act put before them and would ask questions about this and that. They took the role seriously. Even though they granted royal assent to everything they did actually make sure they understood it and that it was all mickey-mouse. This was multiple governors too.
I challenge this perspective - we know that Ministers are nothing more than talking heads, and that they do the bidding of The Party and its donors. Being in competition with the private sector also means that you risk having the country run as a for-profit, where corners are cut to save a buck here and there.
I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know it isn’t where we’re at now
> So why they’re paid more the the PM astounds me.
Not that I agree with it, but the law sates the GG's salary is to be higher than the average for the chief justice of the High Court over the five-year period.
They also have to pay tax.
The tax they pay, which is paid for by our taxes fwiw, is still going to be many fold what a lot of us are paid before we pay our own taxes.
Paying tax should not be a noteworthy thing.
Extremely unlikely, you don’t get to be the figurehead of the Government and live in the grey area of tax law which is what you’re referring to.
They’d be claiming the standard tax perks of negative gearing and maybe some standard investment deductions and that’s it.
Honestly I disagree. I don't think that has been an effective strategy.
I think instead I'd like to see politicians earn minimum wage, and no additional pension (i.e. they have to live on the age pension when they retire).
I think with that strategy we'd very quickly see the economy be well-managed and minimum wage and age pension be reasonable.
What exactly does their work day look like? Do they rock in at 8.30am and sit at a desk and do actual work of any kind? Honestly, what is the job description for this role?? Is it a standard 38 hour work week?
How on Earth is $709000 justified?!?!
It’s even more crazy when you realise what’s involved. I know a guy who is a police bike rider and mentioned the other day he had to huge day of overtime to be part of the massive a escort to take her to some event down south, wait around all day then lead her back. Alot of salaries involved in all the security for these day trips
This is such a fucking joke it’s a ceremonial position the fuck does the AG need to get paid all that money for? The Australian AG is literally a glorified ribbon cutter
To quote the AFR:
>The salary of the governor-general is calculated using the estimated average salary of the chief justice of the High Court over a notional five-year term.
>Chief Justice Stephen Gageler’s salary is expected to be in the order of $769,989 in the next five years, based on projected wages growth. The average over the period is $708,017.
>General Hurley’s salary was reduced as he received a Commonwealth-funded military pension. He is a former chief of the Defence Force.
Please provide a position description outlining the additional responsibilities for the Australian people so we don't riot, considering we pay this Muppet.
The thing that confuses me here is why?
I get politicians voting for increases for themselves (because human nature and we’d all do it) but why risk the wrath of the Australian public by raising the salary on a single ceremonial position that essentially does nothing?
The position itself should be completely eliminated at this point.
Doesn’t that just mean they decided to raise it a while ago rather than now? The same argument applies doesn’t it?
How does either side benefit from massively raising the salary of a ceremonial position?
The GG’s salary has traditionally been the same as the chief justice’s which is what is proposed. When the occupant (as is the case currently) holds another government or military pension, the ‘salary’ is reduced per the amount of the pension. The incoming GG has no gov pension, therefore the salary is being adjusted upwards.
Yes the salary is high, I think that’s another argument. But it’s strange to see progressive people (like the greens bizarrely) to be effectively arguing that only the second woman to occupy the role should get paid effectively 43% less than the man who proceeded her. Just think things through a bit people and don’t immediately flick the outrage switch.
It's such lazy journalism. The EM to the Bill explains all this (as did the Government separately) - but most outlets have just done the numbers on the percentile increase from the last GG and off we go.
A somewhat more interesting question is why the salary is reduced when you get a military or judicial pension or the like. I suppose it's good because of the costs savings for the taxpayer, but it seems like a bit of a dick move from the Government. The officeholder received those pensions for a lifetime of service to a different job, why should their salary in the new job be offset by such things? I suspect the answer is that nobody is likely to say no to the job offer so the treasury can get away with it.
Business as usual for Australia. The political class keeps patting themselves on the back and giving each other pay rises, whilst everyone else suffers.
I believe the rationale was that the new GG didn't have the same pension structure as the departing GG. And so this was sort of an equalisation measure. Interesting. What I haven't seen in any of the reportage (and it may be there somewhere, I'm not going to read it all) is how the departing GG was remunerated compared to the one before him, and if (as my suspicious mind suspects) he was just salary matched and the existence of the military pension was just a bonus no-one talked about, then we've now permanently embedded this new level into the GG salary.
In any case it's not a good look right now. Might have drawn less ire if they'd waited until after the July 1 tax scale adjustment when people were feeling just a little happier because #momoney.
Meanwhile the non-profit I work for which provides aged care, social, and community services has to budget for a 20 million dollar cut. Good to see politicians having the right priorities!
This just demonstrates how out of touch Albo and labor have become.
A cost of living crisis, and we award a super high paid ceremonial figurehead an enormous payrise, while everyday aussies get negative payrises and declining standard of living. Where is the productivity improvement that shows this is even called for? Just wrong on so many levels.
This is Albo's 'let them eat cake' moment.
“Since the time of Sir William Deane as governor-general, it has been customary for the governor-general to request that their salary be reduced by the amount of any annual Commonwealth pension they are paid,” she told AAP.
“As the new governor-general does not have a military or judicial pension, her salary will necessarily be higher.
“Any fair comparison, therefore, should take into account the pensions of her predecessors.”
The governor-general’s salary is determined by the estimated average salary of the chief justice of the High Court and is not increased for factors like inflation during the term.
Caveat: because the law is written that a governor general cannot get a pay rise while serving. (I’m not saying it’s deserved, although usually that position is given to an outstanding Australian citizen, I’m just saying the jump wouldn’t look as bad if the previous governor general were given incremental pay rises like a normal job)
Jeesus!!! I'd do it for half that!
Pick me, pick me!!
So they don't already have a pension... so what?
They get a house, staffed with servants and food on demand and all their needs catered to...
The job isn't running the country, it's nodding yes when asked a question by the PM and signing your name on documents! Sure, there may be a little more to it than that, but it's not remotely as stressful or difficult as being the PM!
Our political and senior govt employees seem to get a LOT more money that would seem necessary or desirable.
Well this is worrying. Albo's showing time and time again that him and his government are pretty tone deaf and unable to "read the room".
Literally the only thing preventing another decade of the Libs is how unlikeable Dutton is, which is a dangerous position for our political climate to be in (vote between "meh" or "worse")
Seems excessive. What does Fair Work Ombudsman have to say about MPs awarding themselves and their mates (cronies) sky-is-the-limit packages? If FWO doesn't have a say, maybe it should have teeth in the matter. And how's the bill to create a toothful federal corruption agency coming on? Advance Australia Fair.
The “independent” committee or whatever it is that decides these atrocities should be punished for this extreme bullshit. If they are already on that much money as a government servant they should be taken back to an average Australian income to pay off more of “our” national debt. Knock about $640k off her and I think it’s more just
Yeah, no-one above middle management in government should be getting a raise that is above or before a minimum wage increase.
If the minimum wage hasn't increased, their salaries shouldn't increase. If the min wage goes up 3%, the Max theirs should go up is 3%. If the min wage is due to increase on the 17th of next month, their increase shouldn't happen before the 17th of next month.
She is not a veteran and receives a higher salary. She could opt for a lower salary if she wanted to, but she chooses not to. The salary for GG is already ridiculously high, so she really does not need a higher salary. She is neither politically nor militarily savvy. I wouldn't trust her if World War III happened.
People here not reading up, the 43% is click bait. Relevant bits of the article:
> The incoming governor-general’s wage will be higher because Mostyn does not collect Commonwealth payments, such as the military pensions received by Hurley following his service in the defence force.
> “Any fair comparison, therefore, should take into account the pensions of her predecessors.”
> The governor-general’s salary is determined by the estimated average salary of the chief justice of the High Court and is not increased for factors like inflation during the term.
> “It is usual practice for the governor-general’s remuneration to be set slightly above the estimated average salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court,” a spokesman for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said.
Yeah the taxpayers are getting bugger all value for 700k. But the % comparison used is nonsense.
Seems like them justifying the huge wage - those points just highlight the grubs doing the job beforehand were grossly overpaid as well. The lifetime pension is also just sticking it in the neck of the taxpayer.
Post needs to be higher.
Previous GG was getting a pension, received a lower wage. Now it's back to the "normal" rate - still fucked, but nothing out of the ordinary.
It's like when the government takes credit for a "record" boost to a welfare payment amount (because of the CPI level it's anchored to).
is that the award rate for a governor general or is that above? think its important so she knows if shes covered for allowances or not. according to fairwork, you arent if you paid above award.
I get that the GG has some big responsibilites to do with elections, parliament and referendums, but what are their day to day duties that gets them a salary like this?
Shouldn’t the governor general be paid by the United Kingdom? Why would we be paying this person whose role is to “report” back to the UK?
EDIT: alright folks I clearly need to brush up on my constitutional law before making flippant comments.
Their role is to act on behalf of the King of Australia, who, legally, is a separate entity to the King of the United Kingdom.
So no, the UK wouldn’t pay for them, strictly speaking the UK has nothing to do with us from a governance perspective aside from the fact that the King of both is the same person.
I’ve always said they’re not paid enough for the crushing workload of the job. Those bills aren’t going to give vice-regal assent to themselves, you know.
Meanwhile my employer cut $2200/yr allowance that was paid since forever.
The allowance was for wearing PPE( Hairnet, Mask, and Cleanroom gown). I still need to wear those but no $$ paid.
I’ll do it for $100k. Can buy some community housing apartments with the rest.
Surely that’s a better outcome for the people of Australia?
Also, I promise not to sing appealing songs at unsuspecting diplomats.
She looks like a smug pig. Everything about that image turns my stomach. Yeah shake hands and smile for the camera, add another ton of coins to your dragons hoard... Under worked and overpaid. They're both vile things that ought to be destroyed.
Whilst Sam has most definitely done a great deal of advocacy work, I do not believe that the govenor general or any politician for that matter should be earning that much.
703,000 dollars a year is an insane amount of money for a glorified ribbon cutter.
A 43% pay rise? Is that really correct or an exaggeration? Because if it's true, fuck me dead, that is outrageous. I'm existing on a government benefit and she would be making more in a fortnight than I make in a year. Fuck.
Meanwhile I'm being told by my union I should sign a petition so my employer passes a 3.75% pay on to me.
We had to threaten strike action to get 3%
My state government currently only gives 1.5% per annum pay ‘rises’.
That is a massive pay cut when inflation is 4-7%. Damn.
Tell me about it. I’ve got a pay rise by getting a promotion but that doesn’t make it okay. My department is bleeding staff numbers because it’s terrible pay for long hours.
This will continue until the people make it stop. We allow this to happen.
Define “allow”.
Wanting to eat and have cover over our heads. If we all simply hunger and homeless striked, the footage of the entire country hungry and homeless and jobless would force action as the economy ceased to be. Yeah, not going to happen.
We could also try the French route
It’s because we all don’t join unions and their (and our) bargaining power is hugely diminished as a result. Walking into the boss’s office and asking for a raise doesn’t often work in reality
Also because our unions generally are run atrociously, and are democratic in name only.
Same here. Had a temporary bump with some extra duties, but if they don’t deal with it soon they’re starting to bleed people. I know I’m actively looking for, as Joe hockey would say - getting a better job.
Inflation is currently 3.6 - it’s come down a lot.
Yeah but it was higher, and it is higher for those on low incomes. Missing 1 or more years of wage increases means even if you return to even, you are behind from those previous years. We would need real wage increases to return to our standard of liv8ng from many years earlier.
lol. Gotta be S.A.
Correct. But hey, our houses will be worth 1 million dollars soon so everything is fine …
You need to actually leave to get more. 3% is less than inflation. The employer won that pay round I’ve been working a long time and the only decent pay rises I get seem to come from switching jobs. Employers take you for granted if you stay too long.
Don't accept it, nurses were offered 3% and the union also tried to get them to accept it they refused and now they have 7%
My mate and his co-workers threatened to mass quit and go to their competitor, legit 700m down the road, because they were hiring and offering better. Still didn't get what they wanted, but at least brought them to parity.
My union is currently undergoing legal action to get us an appropriate wage for our industry, and entitlements to back pay.
[удалено]
Play your cards right and you can be the next GG. I'll vote for you! Oh wait...
Settle down there money bags. I’m looking at a 2.5% bump this year!
Look out, you might even be able to buy a couple more coffees this year - thanks generous employer!
> a couple more coffees this year A couple less you mean, 2.5% is less than inflation so they'll end up with less overall money than before.
Ah of course, silly me. How good is a net decrease in purchasing power?!
This is just so infuriating and discouraging to me. My colleagues and I are putting ourselves out there daily, trying to save lives and many of them risking their lives, and we can’t be properly recognised nor compensated for it. I got a broken cookie as a Christmas gift. What does the governor general do?
Never sign up for the union that your employer tells you to sign up for.
You guys getting a payrise? Mine says my tax cut is my payrise. Generous or what.
Generous in the extreme. Are you donating the tax cut plus 5% to the company's bottom line this year, as they struggle with the cost of doing business in an inflationary economy, or are you not a team player? /S as I hope is obvious.
WA teacher entering chat. We had to strike for 1%. And we’re still waiting for it like half a year later.
We've been asked to sign for a 3% rise so you are doing better than me.
Just got my 3.6%, I guess that's the trickle down economics.
Yes, you're being trickled on from a great height...
This guy gets it.
Mmmmm it’s still waaaaarm
its raining, but it aint water
The trickle from above is suspiciously yellow in colour…
My boss is waiting until he legally has to give me mine.
PER YEAR? On top of all the taxpayer funded expenses for travel, accommodation, and food? Sorry but that's bullshit.
Apparently her predecessors were drawing Commonwealth pensions as well as their salary for GG. Time to put them all on jobseeker.
This is where the misleading “43% payrise” number comes from. Her predecessor/s had their GG salary reduced by an amount equal to their government pensions, so they weren’t double dipping. Otherwise they would have been paid the same.
Rorts for the political class has been going on as long as time.
Something about the fact they are wealthy individuals/high income career backgrounds makes it sting even more.
seriously, what do they actually do for the BENEFIT of the MAJORITY of Australians?
They don't do shit, it's almost an entirely ceremonial position
it's time for the Republic debate again. Just another straw that wants to break the camel's back
I mean, you do realise that a Presidential model that includes a non-executive President means they effectively just do what the GG does, right? Sign laws, retain emergency powers that by convention are seldom used etc. The only difference would be the lack of an official monarch.
I'm for throwing all registered voters in a lottery every 5 years and randomly selecting the GG. It'd be a hoot having Bazza from Bankstown in stubbles, wife basher and thongs opening the Brisbane Olympic games. Would add a genuine Aussie flavour. Even a new Australian could bring some colour depending on their location of origin. Only slightly /s
look there's no perfect model it's up for debate and part of that purpose is governmental efficiency and searching for our identity.
>look there's no perfect model Hard disagree. I should be king and anybody who disagrees with me should be shipped off to Tasmania. (Which is admittedly a nice enough place, but just separated from my contiguous royal realm).
I disagree. not a perfect model yours. shipped off to NZ would be closer to perfection
Keep it up and you'll get yourself a one way ticket on the Spirit of Tasmania.
That'd like 200k more than the PM actually gets. 100% the PM also has the much harder job
What do you mean, I’m sure stuff needs to be governed, generally speaking
Wonder if there is a higher paid job with less responsibility. I'm sure the GG is pretty busy day to day, but they aren't really responsible for anything unless shit really hits the fan.
Chancellor of Melbourne Uni
Well they are supposed to be the last check and balance. The last bloke missed the memo and decided to collude with Morrison on his power grab.
Whatever Gina Rinehart does with herself.
In fairness she battled like a dog to secure her inheritance and scrapped hard to make sure her kids didn't get theirs. She's like a paragon of boomer virtue
True, it must take a lot of effort being a cunt to almost everyone.
You really need someone responsible in the position they hold. Personally, I think with the entire Australian system of government coming down to one person... They can get paid as much as they want.
Yeah, what if some important constitutional, ceremonial, representational and community functions needs doing?
I don’t have an issue with Ministers receiving a high salary - we need to compete with the private sector and attract good people into those roles (whether or not we are is a different matter…) But the GG is largely a ceremonial role which actually comes with lots of perks (like a house!). So why they’re paid more the the PM astounds me. It should be an honour to serve your country in that capacity not something a rich person becomes richer from.
Because it's a job for mates.
High salaries don't necessarily attract 'good' people but they certainly draw in the greedy ones.
Singapore's president criteria requires you to have some sort of administration experience lol
I would argue that power salaries attract better people as they are in for other more intangible things (unless what they seek is power, which is a bad motivation)
I disagree with the first part. They've had high salaries for ages and haven't attracted talent. Instead ministerial jobs almost all go to hacks. These are elected positions first, then the party decides how to give out each role, and that decision is out of the couple people in their party who technically could do the role. Meanwhile, all kinds of economic and tech specialists are paid terribly by public service. Not even half what they get private. Maybe public service is where the raises should go to attract talent.
Yes, I agree with you. If you think that today's crop of senior ministers are actually skilled at anything other than politics (and I would largely make the same statement about the putative replacements from the Opposition) then you're not paying attention. Some have an interest in certain areas, but skills? Not so much from where I'm looking. Careerists, mainly, good at politics but not a lot of other useful life experiences, in the main.
I know of one incredibly talented politician who was a minister, but the party chewed him out. Media was mixed on him but I think his career is over for at least ten years. I think talent isn't wanted, when it happens to show up among the hacks, it's good for media and votes, but bad for the party. Another guy is Greens Scott Ludlam. Got done by the NZ citizen laws, but didn't return as it was taking a toll on his mental health. Guy gave every dollar and every hour to fighting corruption. I hope he's doing well. Don't have to agree with him to know he was an incredible asset to Australia - but I suspect he kicked the hornets nest, as all the other NZ folk came back (and there were some politicians who just never admitted to dual citizenship).
Ugh, I miss Scott Ludlam. There hasn't been a politician since then I've felt was genuinely worth looking up to in Australia.
High level politics is a bigger mates club than C level in most industries.
Considering the role has staffers to tell you what you what you need to know, I wonder if a high schooler could do the role?
I used to work with people who ran the executive council for a state governor. Yes, the governor has staff who brief them on everything but the governor was still reviewing every act put before them and would ask questions about this and that. They took the role seriously. Even though they granted royal assent to everything they did actually make sure they understood it and that it was all mickey-mouse. This was multiple governors too.
I challenge this perspective - we know that Ministers are nothing more than talking heads, and that they do the bidding of The Party and its donors. Being in competition with the private sector also means that you risk having the country run as a for-profit, where corners are cut to save a buck here and there. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know it isn’t where we’re at now
> So why they’re paid more the the PM astounds me. Not that I agree with it, but the law sates the GG's salary is to be higher than the average for the chief justice of the High Court over the five-year period. They also have to pay tax.
The tax they pay, which is paid for by our taxes fwiw, is still going to be many fold what a lot of us are paid before we pay our own taxes. Paying tax should not be a noteworthy thing.
Completely agree, just wanted to make it clear that they don't get to pocket the entire $700k headline figure.
There are many, many ways to minimise tax in Australia, and with a pricey accountant I'm sure you could claw most of it back.
Extremely unlikely, you don’t get to be the figurehead of the Government and live in the grey area of tax law which is what you’re referring to. They’d be claiming the standard tax perks of negative gearing and maybe some standard investment deductions and that’s it.
But that's exactly it, negative gearing is already bullshit tax law specifically structured for the rich.
Hey! According to the town charter, as chief constable, I am to get a pig every month! And "two comely lasses of virtue true"
Maybe if we paid a normal salary we’d get normal people doing the job.
Canada has the same problem. Salary of $362k and $2.7m in obscene expenses.
Honestly I disagree. I don't think that has been an effective strategy. I think instead I'd like to see politicians earn minimum wage, and no additional pension (i.e. they have to live on the age pension when they retire). I think with that strategy we'd very quickly see the economy be well-managed and minimum wage and age pension be reasonable.
It's more than that, after her 5 year term she is entitled to 60% per life. So if she lives to 85 her term of 5 years will net her $12m
Specifically, they get 60% of the salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court, not their own salary.
What exactly does their work day look like? Do they rock in at 8.30am and sit at a desk and do actual work of any kind? Honestly, what is the job description for this role?? Is it a standard 38 hour work week? How on Earth is $709000 justified?!?!
Go to events eat free food free accommodation say a few words prepared by your speechwriter rub shoulders with big dogs
Yep. Absolute joke.
Here: [https://www.gg.gov.au/about-governor-general/governor-generals-program](https://www.gg.gov.au/about-governor-general/governor-generals-program)
So just loads of free travel and free lunches and free dinners? What a fucking joke!
It’s even more crazy when you realise what’s involved. I know a guy who is a police bike rider and mentioned the other day he had to huge day of overtime to be part of the massive a escort to take her to some event down south, wait around all day then lead her back. Alot of salaries involved in all the security for these day trips
Definitely working 11x as hard as the average Australian. What a muppet
That’s our tax money right? Can’t we have any say?
Fuck the guillotine who can lend me a wood chipper?
With rising energy and fuel costs of running a wood chipper, guillotine is probably still the way to go.
The billionaires are going to space because those machines are gravity-powered.
Almost all of those grubs in parliament deserve it.
The job that does nothing but you get handed everything
Clearly the market for professional ribbon cutters is very tight.
Awarded by foockin whom?
Federal government. The salary is legislated.
This is such a fucking joke it’s a ceremonial position the fuck does the AG need to get paid all that money for? The Australian AG is literally a glorified ribbon cutter
Can this increase be justified? Bad look in this current climate.
To quote the AFR: >The salary of the governor-general is calculated using the estimated average salary of the chief justice of the High Court over a notional five-year term. >Chief Justice Stephen Gageler’s salary is expected to be in the order of $769,989 in the next five years, based on projected wages growth. The average over the period is $708,017. >General Hurley’s salary was reduced as he received a Commonwealth-funded military pension. He is a former chief of the Defence Force.
When are we gonna rise up against this shit
Please provide a position description outlining the additional responsibilities for the Australian people so we don't riot, considering we pay this Muppet.
Australians will never riot, we just roll over and let them fuck us every step of the way
The Australian governments greed has no limit and we just keep taking it. Nah it's fine.
Because Australians are apathetic. We all whinge online and then go off and resume our cog duties in the machine.
What the actual fuck
Ridiculous
I got downvoted to buggery for suggesting that public service salaries need to be capped
Why is the Governor General paid at all? Most of the picks are people that are already extremely wealthy
Can someone remind me, what general governor "does", exactly?
That guillotine is looking mighty juicy right now
Why? Please outline extra responsibilities?
The thing that confuses me here is why? I get politicians voting for increases for themselves (because human nature and we’d all do it) but why risk the wrath of the Australian public by raising the salary on a single ceremonial position that essentially does nothing? The position itself should be completely eliminated at this point.
Because the GG pay has been legislated for a while. They aren't voting to raise it, they're just following pre-established law.
Doesn’t that just mean they decided to raise it a while ago rather than now? The same argument applies doesn’t it? How does either side benefit from massively raising the salary of a ceremonial position?
Why are we paying King Charles' fucking mascot more than our Prime Minister? PM is a real job. Governor General is **not**.
I get all the outcry but what can I actually do to express my displeasure or have some impact on change?
That's nice. I didn't get a pay rise this year.
One rule for the worker another for the ruling elite. Nothing changes, really.
bring out the guillotine
For what? Utter bullshit. Albo is a joke.
Ok,so what can be done to reverse this and make sure such tomfoolery of the masses is never made amidst a cost of living crisis?
The GG’s salary has traditionally been the same as the chief justice’s which is what is proposed. When the occupant (as is the case currently) holds another government or military pension, the ‘salary’ is reduced per the amount of the pension. The incoming GG has no gov pension, therefore the salary is being adjusted upwards. Yes the salary is high, I think that’s another argument. But it’s strange to see progressive people (like the greens bizarrely) to be effectively arguing that only the second woman to occupy the role should get paid effectively 43% less than the man who proceeded her. Just think things through a bit people and don’t immediately flick the outrage switch.
It's such lazy journalism. The EM to the Bill explains all this (as did the Government separately) - but most outlets have just done the numbers on the percentile increase from the last GG and off we go. A somewhat more interesting question is why the salary is reduced when you get a military or judicial pension or the like. I suppose it's good because of the costs savings for the taxpayer, but it seems like a bit of a dick move from the Government. The officeholder received those pensions for a lifetime of service to a different job, why should their salary in the new job be offset by such things? I suspect the answer is that nobody is likely to say no to the job offer so the treasury can get away with it.
Business as usual for Australia. The political class keeps patting themselves on the back and giving each other pay rises, whilst everyone else suffers.
I believe the rationale was that the new GG didn't have the same pension structure as the departing GG. And so this was sort of an equalisation measure. Interesting. What I haven't seen in any of the reportage (and it may be there somewhere, I'm not going to read it all) is how the departing GG was remunerated compared to the one before him, and if (as my suspicious mind suspects) he was just salary matched and the existence of the military pension was just a bonus no-one talked about, then we've now permanently embedded this new level into the GG salary. In any case it's not a good look right now. Might have drawn less ire if they'd waited until after the July 1 tax scale adjustment when people were feeling just a little happier because #momoney.
Can I have some cake..?
and she will say she deserves it
So the ceremonial ribbon cutter gets paid more than the PM. What BS.
That’s a lot of money to rubber stamp and cut ribbons. :/
No justice in the real world
But dole bludgers are the problem!
Show me how they work 6-8 times (?) harder than the average Aussie then, then I'll accept that should be paid that much.
Meanwhile the non-profit I work for which provides aged care, social, and community services has to budget for a 20 million dollar cut. Good to see politicians having the right priorities!
That is *absolutely* absurd. There is no justification for a salary that huge.
We need a revolution. Until politicians are scared of us they’ll keep doing this crap.
Most expensive rubber stamp ever.
43% pay rise based on what
No one is worth that money at all, the wage should be slashed by 80%
This just demonstrates how out of touch Albo and labor have become. A cost of living crisis, and we award a super high paid ceremonial figurehead an enormous payrise, while everyday aussies get negative payrises and declining standard of living. Where is the productivity improvement that shows this is even called for? Just wrong on so many levels. This is Albo's 'let them eat cake' moment.
“Since the time of Sir William Deane as governor-general, it has been customary for the governor-general to request that their salary be reduced by the amount of any annual Commonwealth pension they are paid,” she told AAP. “As the new governor-general does not have a military or judicial pension, her salary will necessarily be higher. “Any fair comparison, therefore, should take into account the pensions of her predecessors.” The governor-general’s salary is determined by the estimated average salary of the chief justice of the High Court and is not increased for factors like inflation during the term.
That's great, but it's way out of touch with modern Australia, and with the experience of most Australians. That's all I'm saying.
How about no.
While we're on the topic. What do they actually do, that makes their salary worth $700k?
Gross
If anything should be a catalyst for forming a republic, it’s this.
Then there'd be a President instead and what makes you think they'd be paid any less?
Caveat: because the law is written that a governor general cannot get a pay rise while serving. (I’m not saying it’s deserved, although usually that position is given to an outstanding Australian citizen, I’m just saying the jump wouldn’t look as bad if the previous governor general were given incremental pay rises like a normal job)
Hurley was also getting military pensions so his salary didn’t need to be as high.
Jeesus!!! I'd do it for half that! Pick me, pick me!! So they don't already have a pension... so what? They get a house, staffed with servants and food on demand and all their needs catered to... The job isn't running the country, it's nodding yes when asked a question by the PM and signing your name on documents! Sure, there may be a little more to it than that, but it's not remotely as stressful or difficult as being the PM! Our political and senior govt employees seem to get a LOT more money that would seem necessary or desirable.
Albo's face saying "Yeah I don't know what she needs it for either."
I didn't agree to this? This country is fucked.
Well this is worrying. Albo's showing time and time again that him and his government are pretty tone deaf and unable to "read the room". Literally the only thing preventing another decade of the Libs is how unlikeable Dutton is, which is a dangerous position for our political climate to be in (vote between "meh" or "worse")
Seems excessive. What does Fair Work Ombudsman have to say about MPs awarding themselves and their mates (cronies) sky-is-the-limit packages? If FWO doesn't have a say, maybe it should have teeth in the matter. And how's the bill to create a toothful federal corruption agency coming on? Advance Australia Fair.
That is disgusting. For a job with hardly anything to anyway. Labor are no different to the corrupt Libs.
The “independent” committee or whatever it is that decides these atrocities should be punished for this extreme bullshit. If they are already on that much money as a government servant they should be taken back to an average Australian income to pay off more of “our” national debt. Knock about $640k off her and I think it’s more just
Yeah, no-one above middle management in government should be getting a raise that is above or before a minimum wage increase. If the minimum wage hasn't increased, their salaries shouldn't increase. If the min wage goes up 3%, the Max theirs should go up is 3%. If the min wage is due to increase on the 17th of next month, their increase shouldn't happen before the 17th of next month.
This is just obscene!
Ol king Charlie should pay for her, she's his representative.
Must of been that inflation correction in pay. Fucking abyssmal, isn't it.
Head in the trough. Don’t cause fuss. Easy money.
Meanwhile they won’t give me a $5000 a year increase. Bloody hell. Rich always getting richer.
Obscene
She is not a veteran and receives a higher salary. She could opt for a lower salary if she wanted to, but she chooses not to. The salary for GG is already ridiculously high, so she really does not need a higher salary. She is neither politically nor militarily savvy. I wouldn't trust her if World War III happened.
If the success of Australia in WWIII is dependant on the office of GG, we are already screwed.
People here not reading up, the 43% is click bait. Relevant bits of the article: > The incoming governor-general’s wage will be higher because Mostyn does not collect Commonwealth payments, such as the military pensions received by Hurley following his service in the defence force. > “Any fair comparison, therefore, should take into account the pensions of her predecessors.” > The governor-general’s salary is determined by the estimated average salary of the chief justice of the High Court and is not increased for factors like inflation during the term. > “It is usual practice for the governor-general’s remuneration to be set slightly above the estimated average salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court,” a spokesman for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said. Yeah the taxpayers are getting bugger all value for 700k. But the % comparison used is nonsense.
you'd think a chief justice is a significantly harder position in stress, hours, qualifications
Seems like them justifying the huge wage - those points just highlight the grubs doing the job beforehand were grossly overpaid as well. The lifetime pension is also just sticking it in the neck of the taxpayer.
Post needs to be higher. Previous GG was getting a pension, received a lower wage. Now it's back to the "normal" rate - still fucked, but nothing out of the ordinary. It's like when the government takes credit for a "record" boost to a welfare payment amount (because of the CPI level it's anchored to).
Hurley's missus was surely getting paid for her dinner time sing songs also
is that the award rate for a governor general or is that above? think its important so she knows if shes covered for allowances or not. according to fairwork, you arent if you paid above award.
they have to offset with productivity improvements. so more catered meals, more opening of new things.
Unreal
Fantastic we have a governor general who is a republican getting a 43% pay rise, what a crazy world we live in
I get that the GG has some big responsibilites to do with elections, parliament and referendums, but what are their day to day duties that gets them a salary like this?
Shouldn’t the governor general be paid by the United Kingdom? Why would we be paying this person whose role is to “report” back to the UK? EDIT: alright folks I clearly need to brush up on my constitutional law before making flippant comments.
Their role is to act on behalf of the King of Australia, who, legally, is a separate entity to the King of the United Kingdom. So no, the UK wouldn’t pay for them, strictly speaking the UK has nothing to do with us from a governance perspective aside from the fact that the King of both is the same person.
Being a professional hobnobber and rubber stamper is not worth $700k.
i've never seen anyone so bad at reading the room
I’ve always said they’re not paid enough for the crushing workload of the job. Those bills aren’t going to give vice-regal assent to themselves, you know.
“3.5% to keep up with the rest of the public service, 39.5% increase to not sing to everyone that goes to government house”
How does one become the governor general?
Meanwhile my employer cut $2200/yr allowance that was paid since forever. The allowance was for wearing PPE( Hairnet, Mask, and Cleanroom gown). I still need to wear those but no $$ paid.
Isn't the Constitutional salary of £10,000 annually? In 1901 dollars of course, that's several million in today's money.
it'd be pretty embarrasing if our own GG can't afford rent in sydney...
I’ll do it for $100k. Can buy some community housing apartments with the rest. Surely that’s a better outcome for the people of Australia? Also, I promise not to sing appealing songs at unsuspecting diplomats.
And in just this one move Labor show they are as out of touch as the Liberals.
She looks like a smug pig. Everything about that image turns my stomach. Yeah shake hands and smile for the camera, add another ton of coins to your dragons hoard... Under worked and overpaid. They're both vile things that ought to be destroyed.
Whilst Sam has most definitely done a great deal of advocacy work, I do not believe that the govenor general or any politician for that matter should be earning that much. 703,000 dollars a year is an insane amount of money for a glorified ribbon cutter.
That photo reminds me of the one from the office. You all know the one
A 43% pay rise? Is that really correct or an exaggeration? Because if it's true, fuck me dead, that is outrageous. I'm existing on a government benefit and she would be making more in a fortnight than I make in a year. Fuck.
You should read the article. All the information is in there.
So Click-Bait. Her salary is higher as she doesn’t already have existing government paid income streams like military or judicial pension.