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September 30th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
The Remuneration Tribunal is expected to hand Federal MPs a generous pay increase.
Source: The Australian
THE nation’s 226 federal MPs are in line for a major pay rise and backbenchers are tipped to almost double their salary to $250,000 a year.
And if the expectations of some MPs are realised, Cabinet members, the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader would earn much more than that.
The Remuneration Tribunal is reviewing MPs’ pay and is expected to report at the end of the year. The tribunal, which was handed the power to determine MP pay rates earlier this year, has already claimed parliamentarians are underpaid for their work.
“It is relevant to note that the tribunal has, for some time, been of the view that the remuneration of parliamentarians, especially ministers, is less than it should be,” the tribunal said in its 2009-10 annual report.
In his column for The Advertiser, veteran political reporter and Gold Walkley award winner Laurie Oakes writes that the base pay for MPs could jump from $140,000 a year to $250,000.
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“Some MPs think there is a chance it will be considerably more,” he says.
“That will mean whopping increases for ministers, and the Prime Minister, too.
“Also, for the first time, shadow ministers are likely to receive payment for their portfolio responsibilities.”
This follows speculation that the nation’s five most senior bureaucrats will soon win pay rises of up to $300,000 a year from the tribunal.
In March, the Government asked the tribunal to conduct a “work value” assessment of MPs’ wages, following the release of the Belcher Report into wages, entitlements and allowances.
The tribunal would not confirm yesterday it was looking at major pay rises for politicians.
It said: “As a first step, consistent with the Committee’s recommendations, the tribunal is conducting, with the assistance of a consultant, an assessment of the work of federal parliamentary backbenchers so as to establish, first, a defensible basis for assessing appropriate remuneration and, secondly, a benchmark for future assessments.”
UnitingCare Wesley chief executive Simon Schrapel yesterday said MPs were in a “tough job”. “It’s easy to jump onto a hobby horse and put a boot into pollies,” he said.
“For senior ministers the demands on their lives are incredible.
“That said, there is a sense we need to get some control over executive and high-end-of-town wages.
“If we are talking about a $100,000 pay rise, that would be very hard to sell to the community, particularly in the current conditions where people are struggling to pay mortgages and their bills.”
Any wage increase for politicians attracts community criticism. A major increase in their base pay is likely to be very poorly received, particularly with the Gillard Government warning of tough economic times ahead.
But the move is likely to have bipartisan support from the Government and the Coalition, although the Greens are likely to oppose.
Earlier this year, MPs received a 3 per cent rise from July 1. And in August, the tribunal approved an extra annual payment of $1500 to each MP for travel to Canberra.
In 2008, then-prime minister Kevin Rudd froze pay increases for MPs for 12 months – infuriating many MPs, who missed out on a recommended pay rise of $5400.
State Government MPs could also benefit from the tribunal’s decision, with their base rate tied to salary increases in the Federal Parliament.
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