Ok, just a brief one this time I hope.
The news lately has been full of commentary about politicians’ travel entitlements and now the pay increase they’re getting.
I should reveal I worked in the office of a State Government Minister for a period – this gave me a slightly different perspective on this issue.
Sure, its easy to bash politicans and all their perks. No one likes a politician – they, like lawyers (which very many of them are), are so very easy to hate – until you really need one’s help.
As for travel – let’s face facts, Perth is an extremely isolated city. Some travel is inevitable. Now – I’m not saying that all pollies’ travel is justified. I am, however, saying that some travel is necessary and inevitable. In some circumstances face-to-face contact is crucial. There are some things that need to be seen, experienced or felt to be properly understood. If the travel IS justified then whinging about the cost is idiotic. Don’t whine about the costs of travel – the only thing you can complain about is whether or not you believe the trip and its purposes are justifiable. If the trip is legit – the reasonable costs must be paid.
Now, politician’s pay. Many (not all) accept a pay cut when moving into politics. This does not deter them. This fact alone would tend to suggest that the pay peanuts = monkeys equation has some holes in it. It also ignores the many additional entitlements received by politicians – and I am referring to both the monetary and non-monetary aspects. For some, the additional motivation is about community service. For some its about profile, and I dare say for some it is about power. All of these things weigh in the balance. But fundamentally I don’t think politicians are underpaid or over-paid. I believe that whatever they are paid they have little right to complain. Accepting a career in politics should not be a purely mercenary transaction. I believe that politicians should be paid fairly and I acknowledge that it can be a very difficult and demanding choice of occupation. But I’m not sure that it should be viewed as a career – politicians serve at the will of the people, not the politicians choosing.
Pay them a reasonable amount for the work they do – then let them decide what is really motivating them to serve. I would hazard a guess that so long as their pay remains at a level that allows for a comfortable standard of living the same people will continue to seek re-election and the same types of people continue to seek election.
Anyone else have a view?
