The ACT's politicians and senior public servants have been granted their first pay rise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Chief Minister Andrew Barr's pay to rise to $360,202.
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The ACT Remuneration Tribunal has granted a 1.8 per cent pay rise, slightly above Australian wage growth this year.
The increase means Mr Barr's pay increases by $6369 a year, while ACT Head of Service Kathy Leigh will now be paid $388,391 a year.
Backbenchers in the Legislative Assembly will be paid $171,525 a year, while the Deputy Chief Minister, Yvette Berry, will take home $308,745 and the Opposition Leader, Elizabeth Lee, will be paid $291,592.
City Renewal Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow and Suburban Landy Agency chief executive John Dietz will be paid $334,142.
Auditor-General Michael Harris will now be paid $317,704, the electoral commissioner, Damian Cantwell, will be paid $232,322 while the clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Tom Duncan, will be paid $243,322.
The ACT government's submission had said the tribunal should consider community expectations when assessing pay levels of politicians, statutory office holders and public service executives.
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"The wider ACT economy is continuing to experience repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the government's opinion that any increase to remuneration, allowances or enhancement of other entitlements for position holders in the Tribunal's jurisdiction needs to be minimal to meet community expectations," the submission said.
The tribunal said in its decision on politicians' pay it had considered the need for the ACT to offer competitive and equitable pay, allowances and entitlements to Legislative Assembly members.
"The tribunal gave considerable weight to community standards and expectations, in particular in terms of the continuing uncertainty of circumstances currently faced in the territory by the recent outbreak of COVID-19 Delta variant across the country," the tribunal said.
The tribunal froze pay levels in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Politicians received a 2.5 per cent pay rise in 2019 and senior public servants received a 4.7 per cent bump.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
