Arabic version: رئيس وزراء تسمانيا يقبل زيادة الرواتب الكاملة البالغة 22 في المئة

According to ABC News, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has confirmed he and all other state parliamentarians are now receiving the full 22 per cent pay rise determined by the Tasmanian Industrial Commission. The increase followed a seven-year pay freeze, although Mr Rockliff had previously described it as “out of step with community expectations”.

In June last year, the commission determined parliamentarians should receive the rise. Mr Rockliff said at the time that the government would not accept it, and the Liberals later moved a parliamentary motion to disallow the increase. Labor and eight independents rejected that motion in the upper house in September last year. Mr Rockliff then said he would limit his own increase to 3 per cent, describing that level as fair and reasonable for public workers.

Mr Rockliff said he had accepted less than the commission’s recommended amount for more than a year, but understood that all parliamentarians had now been brought into line with the determination. His annual salary is now $369,000, nearly $68,000 more than before the commission’s decision. Ministers receive $291,597, while MPs receive a base rate of $171,527, still the lowest rate in the country.

The decision comes while the government plans to cut 1,700 state servant roles by 2030 to rein in spending. It has also drawn criticism from a health union, which questioned the fairness of proposed nurse pay rises of 3 per cent, 2.75 per cent and 2.5 per cent over the next three years. Treasurer Eric Abetz said he and others had accepted the will of parliament after the attempt to disallow the rise failed. Health Minister Bridget Archer said she had initially accepted a 3 per cent increase for a year before subsequently accepting the base salary rate received by every parliamentarian.