Senate debates

Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Questions without Notice

Defence Force Remuneration

2:28 pm

Photo of Eric AbetzEric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Reynolds is right to ask for such a comparison because, as we speak, parliamentarian's pay is frozen. There will be no increase in 2014-15. Evidence from the Australian Public Service Commission at Senate estimates last week noted that recent government pay offers should be seen in the context of falling inflation. Inflation for the year to December 2014 was 1.7 per cent with the RBA forecasting inflation to June this year of 1.25 per cent, while the National Australia Bank is forecasting a rate to December 2015 of only 1.2 per cent. If this is the case, ADF members who were awarded a 1.5 per cent increase last November, and will get further increases, would already be keeping level with inflation for these years. The two per cent pay rise is therefore likely to be better than inflation.

Comments

William Boeder
Posted on 12 Mar 2015 1:09 pm

I note that this Senator is stalking among his Liberal colleagues seeking out those that had contrary views to his own, that went against the more pompous members of the Liberal party even though you and your Cabinet ministers did their utmost to kick the ADF pay increase into the land of dreams rather than allow it to become reality in its early beginnings.
Further more you now give the illusion that you were supportive of this Defence Force rise at some stage.
I understand that the number of Federal party policies that were forcing austerity upon the Australian people have either been shot down in flames and that they were ever only directed to serve the upper level of society persons on already high and generous salaries.
I long for the day the Liberal party of today is consigned to the dirt-tin and a new party or voting bloc of independents soon take over the soon to be empty spaces in the Australian parliament.
I further wish to speak of your Liberal party's initial austerity measure that you and your colleagues had decided to thrust upon the lesser remunerated people in our societies and communities, such pompous disdain is never going to ever serve the best interests of your declining liberal voting bloc.
No, times have changed from the days of government integrity to become frequent bouts of creative fabrication and falsity, as opposed to the times now past when the Liberal party were a trusted representative party under Sir Robert Menzies.
Fortunately for the people of Australia the desire to join with the Americans to wage war on those former independent countries still unshackled from American domination, will soon be recognized for the simple stupidity of this Liberal government of falling in love with the American Administration of war-mongering ideals that are now set to become a punishing plague upon that once free democratic country.
On your passing you will be remembered for the legacy you created for Tasmania, this will consist of your Senatorial deceptions and intrigues that have cost this State so dearly by way of the enormous reduction of this State's capacious valleys and mountains its former broad-ranging voluptuous wilderness forests as were oOnce the major tourism drawcard exclusive to Tasmania.
I note much of our forests are being almost gifted to one of this World's most corrupted forest eradication businesses, operating under the loathsome name of Ta Ann.
Why any man would allow such an untrusted company to access our wilderness forests at considerable cost to the Tasmanian taxpayer, only to become a lucrative forest product for Ta Ann to value-add its multi millions of dollars to the Bank accounts of the Taib Mahmud dynasty, which leaves most of the Tasmanian people lost in their bitterness toward both you and your political party.
Here we see you all the while promoting this business arrangement which is no less than a one-sided form of robbing this State to serve the best interests of a World-wide corrupted business enterprise.
As such your legacy will be seen to be a horrible reminder of your time as a poisonous Senator fighting against the better interests of Tasmania.
Fair to say that all of Australia longs for the day you will be shunted or even discarded from the House of the Senate her,e in what was once the envied place Australia.