Do MPs deserve a pay rise?

Politicians squirmed when asked about pay rises this week. It's not their call and the authority that makes the decision has been working on a fundamental review of MPs' pay

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, April 10, written by Anna Rawhiti-Connell.

In today’s edition: possible lifeline of sorts for Fair Go and Newshub as a tough week for media continues; post-election business confidence bounce has ended; poll shows lift for the Greens while three Chrises battle it out for popularity in PM stakes; but first, MPs and parties have no say over whether they’ll get a pay rise, but the ‘optics’ put the PM in a ‘pickle’ to say the least

A big pay rise would make Nicola Willis really, really, really uncomfortable

What MPs, ministers, party leaders and the prime minister get paid bubbled to the surface this week following a story from Newstalk’s Jason Walls that indicated a decision from the Remuneration Authority was due at the end of this month. Since then, both prime minister Christopher Luxon and Labour party leader Chris Hipkins have sought to stress the independence of the Authority, fully aware of the “optics” of a pay rise for MPs in the current climate. On Monday, finance minister Nicola Willis told Newstalk, “I would be very uncomfortable if I got offered a big pay rise now. That would make me really, really, really uncomfortable”. Former attorney general Chris Finlayson argues that MPs probably deserve a pay rise. Speaking to RNZ’s Checkpoint, Finlayson said turning down pay rises was “virtue signalling. “They should be completely indifferent to what they receive and just accept it and get on with it.”

Topical comparisons with police pay likely

Divorced from the optics and lived realities of the current day (probably impossible), the question perhaps is not whether MPs deserve a pay rise right now but whether people feel that what they are paid now is fundamentally fair. That might be an especially pointy question following the repeal of the short-lived Fair Pay Agreements legislation. There are basic points of comparison like average wages and topical comparsions with what teachers, nurses and cops get paid. Police minister Mark Mitchell conceded yesterday that New Zealand couldn’t compete with police pay packets on offer in Australia. The teacher comparison is used frequently and often effectively. Prior to the establishment of the Remuneration Authority in 1977, secondary school teachers in the top income bracket were paid more than backbench MPs. There are undoubtedly other factors, like whether we like particular MPs or what our own leanings are. I think there are fair cases on both sides of the argument.

‘Only the rich or the “virtue signallers” will consider becoming MPs’

Finlayson says he worries that without high salaries, only the rich or the “virtue signallers” will consider becoming MPs. As Stuff’s Susan Edmunds reports this morning, backbencher MPs “are currently being paid the lowest salary relative to the country’s average wage since the 1970s.” We know very well that the job of being an MP, minister, party leader or prime minister is demanding and stressful, to the point of breakdown for some. Not a valedictory speech goes by without mention of the sacrifice MP’s families make. A routine day (yesterday) for both Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins might involve being presented with research telling them the public thinks they are a bald, dumb idiot (Luxon) or a weak, useless idiot (Hipkins). There is still a sizable river of filth that flows on social media about former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern.

On the other hand, the job is one of substantial power, privilege and influence. There are perks, some retained after they leave. Former MPs seldom struggle to find new or high-paying jobs after leaving parliament, often leveraging the access to power and influence they had as an MP. Mere mortals just have to bump about in the job market. Only a handful of MPs don’t own property. There have long been concerns about a distance emerging between MPs and constituents based on wealth and class. In his 9th Floor interview with Guyon Espiner, former Labour prime minister Mike Moore described the current day Labour party as “full of people who are an upper class in nature, private schools, and who now lecture us about what we should do.” On the other side of the aisle, National has elevated two independently wealthy people to the position of party leader.

Review of MPs pay packets has been underway since late last year

The Remuneration Authority is precisely designed to avoid being politicised. Speaking to The Post’s Luke Malpass late last year, Geoff Summers described the review that’s been underway as “greenfields” with all options on the table. Despite it having been six and a half years since MPs had a pay rise, a Remuneration Authority spokesperson told Walls that the decision won’t be retrospective. There won’t be a bid to “recoup what was lost through the various pay freezes.” The Authority’s findings are binding unless the government changes the law, and Walls describes the looming decision as a “pickle” for Luxon. He may very well have to swallow it despite how it looks. In tangentially related vegetable news if pickles aren’t your jam, people in South Korea are currently protesting the cost of living and “out of touch” politicians by waving spring onions.

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Semblance of a lifeline for Fair Go and Newshub

Following news yesterday that TVNZ’s long-running show Fair Go and the midday and late night news bulletins would be cut, signs of something resembling a lifeline emerged. 1News reports that the Fair Go brand is set to live on, with a new, smaller team proposed within the news and current affairs division. The report also confirms that union E tū will challenge the broadcaster's plans with legal action. As Shayne Currie and Raphael Franks report for the Herald, Newshub staff will hear this morning whether parts of Newshub will survive a threatened closure. Yesterday, speculation grew about Stuff or NZME picking up the running of a news service. The fate of TVNZ’s long-form investigative news programme, Sunday, will also be revealed today.

Duncan Greive has more:

• Four key questions ahead of two massive days for news media in New Zealand

• RNZ, Whakaata Māori, PMN, NZ on Air and NZ Film Commission leaders weigh in on media crisis

Post-election business confidence bounce short-lived

As interest.co.nz’s Dan Brunskill reports, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion showed that the post-election bounce in business confidence and activity had disappeared, with 24% of participants now expecting the economy to deteriorate in the coming months. However, as Brunskill writes, “bad news for businesses can be good news for fighting inflation. Cost and pricing indicators in the survey showed inflation pressures continue to ease.” There’s an OCR announcement today, which Catherine covered on Monday. Most economists expect no change. Consumer price index data will be released next week.

Click and Collect

• Poll shows lift for the Greens while three Chrises battle it out for popularity in PM stakes

• West Coast river tops alarm level, red weather warning possible

• The owners of the Parnell lodge badly damaged in a fire last on Sunday night own several other motels and have received more than $22m in emergency housing grants. The lodge has had previous issues with building compliance.

Right now on The Spinoff

Eda Tang goes on a quest to find out where your hair can end up after it’s cut and whether you can do anything about it. Duncan Greive talks to the heads of our biggest production companies about the looming crisis in screen production. Claire Mabey celebrates a big win for New Zealand publishers at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Gabi Lardies advocates for every athlete to be allowed to wear shorts for sports. Joel MacManus talks to Janette Sadik-Khan about how she revolutionised cycling and walking in New York and how New Zealand can do the same. For The Cost of Being, a single mum with dreams of generational wealth describes her costs.

Sporting snippets

• Former All Blacks coach Ian Foster has a new job but will not say where. The Herald understands it could be at Japanese club Toyota Verblitz.

Coming soon on The Spinoff: Checkered Flag

In 2023, Gary Stirling, circuit manager at the Pukekohe Park Raceway closed the gates for the last time. The raceway had hosted professional and community motorsports events for 60 years and is now being demolished to make room for horse racing facilities. “Time moves on, Puke’s gone,” he said.

Checkered Flag is a one-off documentary coming to The Spinoff on Tuesday, April 16. It follows Stirling and his daughter in the months leading up to the last day ever at the racecourse. They register drivers, clean up after the Auckland floods, and say goodbye to what is so much more than a paddock with asphalt on it. 

Checkered Flag is made with the support of NZ On Air.

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