SALARY OF M’s.P.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 October 1928, Page 2

SALARY OF M’s.P.

MR SLDEYkS STATEMENT. WELLINGTON. Oct. 11. Tlio following statement was issue to-nighl hy Mr T. K. Ride.v. M.P., <'■ t,lie subject of Members’ salaries <tu si’peramiual ion : ‘’‘During'this Parliament I have ac’ en! as Chairman of the ( ommlltr M-Ujcl) has conddered the t|iicstioii o Members’ salaries and suporaunuatioi As.l am now no longer seeking r< el -of ion, 1 can now speak on this sul je"t with greater freedom and. Irom disinterested point of view. Ihe hoe ovarium for many years took the tore of a sessional allowance, It was ‘.noted that Mouthers' had other sourer of income and had nrivate work to d during the recess. It is now a salary •t--I tP. t'o is tin ever-increasing numb” of Members for whom the honorariuv is their only means of livelihood. Ih following are some of Ih" consider.-' finis hearing on this question (T) The work of a ’Member of Par Lament does not end with the session his work is never.done: he is alway ;it the hock and- call of his emstiti 1 ents. He has never-ending ■correspond erne; lie has frequent calls to atten public functions, and he must give cot sideration to many questions likely t come' before the House.

i'2) Ev-u'y three years he has to con test an election. The Legislature con tciinplated on expenditure for this pur pose of £2OO, based on pre-war values When indirect expenses were taken in to account, it costs much more tha 1 that. (3 He has to live In Wellington fc from four to even six months, and, i mo,t eases, has to maintain his horn in anoth r part of the Dominion at th same time.

(4) He has to meet liianv claims f<‘ public and private subscriptions. (5) His duties involv6 travelling ey penses, more' or less depending on th constituency lie represents. When all these considerations ar taken into account, it will be recog nised that £450 is inadequate as a sal ary, and is not to be compared wit-1 the salary of a similar amount paid tan officer of the Public Service. Thor is only one Australian State that doe not pav its members more tha.n the are paid in New Zealand, and that i South Australia, whose population i not more than half a million. Tasma ilia, whose population is not a quaetei of a million, pays some of its members more and some less. The salaries range from £370 to £SOO. In Nev South Wales the salaries are £875 New Zealand, as a Dominion, occupies a higher status than any of tin Australian States.

On the question of superannuatioi for the Members of the House of Re prpsentatives, a scheme was workc out under which, by. an annual pay ’meat of £4OO,- a retiring allowance o 1 £l5O might be granted to a Memoe who had served for three Parliament/ or nine years;'the amount to be increased by £25 for each acklitiona 1 Parliament, and rising to a maximum of £250 for service in seven or more Parliaments. An interesting feature of the actuarial calculations in thh connection was that tho political mortality of members of Parliament de creased as bis numb-.-- " ’■birliament? increased, bis greatest •■bp-nee of political extinction being after bis first Parliament. One of the objection? raised during an expiring Parliament to giving effect to proposals for increase of salaries or superannuation was that these questions were not before the icountry at the last election. My object in drawing public attention to them now, is that they may not be lost sio-bt of during the approacliing elections. and that the above objection may not be available in the new Parliament to which may Ik refnnied nftm’ having expressed themselves dojfi’.uitelv; on These questions during the campaign.