Politicians pay cut changes imminent
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed a proposed bill that will allow MPs and councillors to take pay cuts is being drafted.
Ardern said she expected the legislation, which was being overseen by the Remuneration Authority, to be ready ‘‘shortly’’.
‘‘Yes, the way that MPs’ are paid and others, such as local government, sit within that [draft] Remuneration legislation,’’ she said.
This month, Ardern announced she, along with ministers and 34 government department heads, would take a 20 per cent pay cut due to coronavirus to show leadership and solidarity with those being hit the hardest during the pandemic.
The Government was only able to make the pay cut decision on behalf of ministers but this still required legislative change because under the law you can’t lower someone’s pay.
The Authority sets the remuneration — salary, fees, certain allowances and superannuation — for members of Parliament, including the prime minister and ministers.
Parliament has to change the law to allow the authority to make changes.
The only current option is to donate to charities.
So when Parliament resumed on Tuesday ACT leader David Seymour attempted to have a bill introduced and debated that would reduce all MPs by 20 per cent for six months.
However, he was immediately shot down by Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
Regardless of timelines for the legislation, ministers had still committed to six months of pay cuts, Ardern said.
‘‘We [ministers] have already made a decision about ourselves. It is certainly not for us to make decisions about anyone else.’’
Next week, the House is set to consider legislation related to coronavirus but it is
‘‘We [ministers] have already made a decision about ourselves. It is certainly not for us to make decisions about anyone else.’’
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
understood there are likely to be further bills on immigration and remuneration.
The remuneration legislation could be part of an omnibus bill that covers a number of unrelated topics.
But is understood the inclusion of local government in the bill has not been finalised.
Remuneration Authority Chair Dame Fran Wilde said the law drafters had consulted with the authority to make sure the intention was correct in law.
This was because the legislation that governs the authority itself was complicated and in various different Acts, she said.
Councillors and mayors across the country are also unable to take pay cuts until a law is passed, she said. Local Government New Zealand has made calls for legislation to allow this to happen.
Last week Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta said she was aware of elected members’ views on pay cuts and that ‘‘work to facilitate’’ changes to both the Remuneration Authority Act and the Local Government Act was being ‘‘actively considered’’.
On Wednesday, public servants leaders and staff paid over $100,000 were told they should not expect any pay increases until after June 2021. State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes also urged commissioners and the heads of crown entities to follow the lead of minsters and other public sector bosses by taking a pay cut.