Pay cut pain must be shared
Solidarity is a rare commodity among parliamentarians, but there are occasions that demand politicians put aside party colours and stand together. One such occasion is the call for all MPs to take a pay reduction in response to the Covid-19 crisis. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she, her ministers and public sector chiefs will take a voluntary 20 per cent cut to their pay packets.
While the monetary savings reaped by the move are small, given the financial wallop inflicted by the pandemic, the gesture does carry symbolic weight. The six-month pay cut, as Ardern put it, is about ‘‘leadership’’. ‘‘It stands alongside many actions taken by many people, private sector, citizens, to tackle the health and economic challenges of Covid-19,’’ she said. ‘‘If there was ever a time to close the gap between groups of people across New Zealand in different positions it is now.’’
Ardern’s pledge was quickly matched by National’s leader Simon Bridges but others, such as ACT leader David Seymour, want to go further. He has written to MPs asking them to come together and pass legislation on April 28 to effect a 20 per cent pay cut for all politicians.
There’s no doubt having all 120 MPs agree to such a measure would send a heartening message to the public. As the house of representatives, MPs represent all of us, and agreeing to a lower salary would be a powerful act of solidarity. If anyone should be attuned to the symbolic power of such gestures, it’s politicians.
Speaking on RNZ’s Checkpoint, Seymour said many private sector bosses had already reduced their salaries. ‘‘It’s critical that Parliament show the same leadership and the rest of the public sector, or at least the higher-paid civil servants, follow suit,’’ he said, adding that the heads of stateowned enterprises, Crown entities and quasigovernment organisations should also take a voluntary pay cut.
Ardern’s leadership during the coronavirus crisis has received praise both here and overseas, and her pay-cut announcement will be seen as the actions of a decisive leader. Yet arguably the biggest test of her leadership will be how her Government leads the country out of level four lockdown restrictions.
For his part, Bridges has become increasingly vocal about the need to ease restrictions next week, and he points to Australia as a possible model to follow. Australia’s less stringent measures, which allow more businesses to remain open, will mean our transTasman neighbours will come out of their lockdown in better economic health, he argues.
That remains to be seen, and yesterday’s announcement of what level three restrictions would look like provides some answers as to how New Zealand will function over the coming weeks.
New Zealanders have sacrificed a great deal in an effort to curb the rate of Covid-19 infections, from business owners who have seen their enterprises crumble, to parents thrown into the role of home-school teachers. Jeopardising public health gains by prematurely relaxing social distancing rules would be nothing short of tragic.
Managing the path back to a sense of normality is the measure by which Ardern’s leadership will be judged – not by any symbolic gesture.
As the house of representatives, MPs represent all of us, and agreeing to a lower salary would be a powerful act of solidarity.