Results tagged “Government & Politics”

Senator Barnaby Joyce caused quite some debate this week, when he suggested that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's salary should be tripled to a million dollars.  The suggestion came as the government accepted a 3 per cent pay rise for all federal politicians. Senator Joyce reckons politicians' pay packets should equal those of business leaders, in order to attract good people into the job. But a lot of politicians disagree - including Mr Rudd, who says he's perfectly happy with the $340,000 a year that he's on.  Stephen Jones, the National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, spoke to us this week about the wages different MPs earn - from backbenchers on $130,000 to cabinet ministers on $250,000. He also pointed out that departmental secretaries earn almost double what their bosses (cabinet ministers) earn. Their salaries are around $440,000.

Let's hear your views on how much politicians get paid...

• The Federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said paying MPs more would cause them to lose touch with the ordinary community. Do you agree? Should politicians pay packets remain at a modest level?

• Stephen Jones explained that even Cabinet Ministers get paid less than their own department heads. Do you think that's fair or not?

• Some politicians think a pay rise is in order; Liberal MP (Mal Washer) thinks that freezing their pay would eventually lead to "halfwits" being attracted to parliament, as all the talented people are taken up by jobs that pay well... What do you think?

• Maybe there should be better incentive to enter the tough world of politics. I'm sure there's many men and women in the corporate and academic sectors who could do very well as a politicians, but aren't prepared for the pay cut that comes with it... Maybe if the pay was comparable to that of the business world, more talented people would be attracted into the job.

• What do you think of the Prime Minister's pay packet of $340,000. Is that enough? He says he's not interested in a million dollar pay packet, but of course he's going to say that... Do you think the man in the top job should get paid more?

• Is modest pay a good deterrent for people who would get into politics for the wrong reasons, or is it just keeping good talented

The story of NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca's extra-marital affair, and his decision to bow out of public office after being outed, has made plenty of headlines this week. He's an easy target for the media - Let's face it, scandalous headlines sell newspapers. But the opinions of public figures on this are far from uniform.

Some leaders say his behaviour was unacceptable and its right that he quit the job;  Others reckon what happens in his private life doesn't matter - as long as he's doing his job properly. (eg former NSW premier Bob Carr, media academic Catharine Lumby, political writer Bob Ellis,)
One prominent ethicist held no strong opinion at all, and basically said it's up to the public to decide what should happen.

Jim Wallis, head of the Australian Christian Lobby, has done a lot of thinking about this topic of leadership and accountability, he shared his thoughts with us.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic of public figures and their accountability...

DISCUSSION POINTS

 
• Some people are saying as long as they can do their job then its no-ones business what goes on in private. What do you think?

• We wouldn't expect people in many other roles to be sacked over something that's going on in their private life... what is it about the role of a politician that demands them to be more morally pure?
 
• The pressures of public life are well known and there's many sad stories about celebrities and politicians who have crumbled under the intense pressure of the media and the paparazzi ... Should you really be expected to give up your private life when you enter public life?

• One letter to the editor in a newspaper website said, "I have trouble understanding what a sex scandal is. To my mind, who you have sex with is your business. I thought that this was generally agreed in the Australian media." Does the media have a double standard - making light of extra-marital affairs on one hand, then tearing down a leader who fails in this area?
 
• Should an affair be a quittable / sackable offense for a politician?