Editor: The Golden Rule says, 鈥淒o unto others as you would have them do unto you.鈥�
In 2006, in order to spare themselves from having to adjust their salary each year, the government asked a panel of experts to determine their salary for 2007.
The experts also recommended that salary be automatically increased each year by the cost of living.
For the premier, the salary went from $126,838 to $187,589 鈥� a raise of nearly $61,000.
Had that salary remained the same, the premiers would be an extra $125,000 poorer.
To help them with extra costs, eligible members of the legislature can get an extra $1,000 per month for housing, with no receipts, or up to nearly $1,600 per month with receipts. For food, up to nearly $1,900 per month.
For the premier鈥檚 transportation last year, over $5,600 per month.
Let us now look at people with disabilities, the others spoken about in that Golden Rule. They got an increase in their allowance in 2007, but unlike the premier it wasn鈥檛 a 48 per cent raise.
Despite increases in the cost of living, unlike the members of the legislature, they鈥檝e received nothing extra in the past nine years.
In September, the allowance will increase to $983 per month, but those who qualified for the special transportation subsidy of $66 per month will lose that, so their net raise will be only $11 per month.
People who were able to get an annual transit pass for $45 will lose that. They will have to pay the $45 annual fee plus an extra $52 per month to get that pass. This means their effective raise is around $22 per month.
Let me be clear, I do not begrudge the premier and the members of the legislature their compensation, but I do have to say that the members of the government aren鈥檛 doing for others as we did for them, and for that I say, 鈥渟hame!鈥�
Michael Purves,
Victoria
