Councillors Demand Equal Access to MP’s Pay Pals
- verityinyarraville
- Jan 28, 2020
- 1 min read
The new Local Government Bill caves in to Councillors’ demands to access the generosity of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal (VIRT) - which awarded senior MPs 11.8% payrise last September.
Even though VIRT is supposed to take into account the state’s ability to pay for MP pay rises, it used rosy Treasury estimates to justify the high salary rises for Ministers and Senior Public Servants.
The VIRT ruling in September also created three new senior positions for taxpayer funding, and in February, when backbenchers complained about travel expenses being withdrawn, re-instated them.
And now that Treasury estimates have been significantly down-graded, there’s no recourse for VIRT to scale back the pay increases, or to not pay the second instalment.
It's such a great lark that Councillors want access to VIRT for their allowances and expenses - and want them indexed annually.
In the great scheme of things, Councillor pay isn’t the greatest burden on ratepayers.
Secrecy and oppression are the greatest burdens on ratepayers.
The VIRT clauses in the Local Government Bill 2019 are merely a few in hundreds of pages of legislation that allow staff and Councillors to keep any information secret, while forcing residents to foot rapidly rising rates notices.
The debate surrounding the Local Government Bill raises important questions about transparency and accountability. The decision to grant Councillors access to VIRT illustrates the potential for misuse of taxpayer funds, especially given that their demands seem to overshadow pressing issues. In this context, the impact on Wildcardcity residents warrants scrutiny, as rising rates combined with secrecy could lead to dissatisfaction and distrust.
The recent developments with the Local Government Bill raise significant concerns about transparency and accountability in local governance. When bodies like VIRT set pay increases based on overly optimistic estimates, it creates a disconnect between the public's burden and the decisions made in their name. The push for Councillors to access VIRT is akin to a Jackpotjill scenario, where access to financial gains overshadows the need for responsible governance. It's time to prioritize the public interest over the interests of officials.