By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterMEMBERS OF the Senate have welcomed the report of the Parliamentary Salaries Review Committee, which was tabled in the House of Representatives last Tuesday.
The Senators who received the report during Friday's sitting of the Upper House, were clearly appreciative of the document, despite only a cursory glance at the recommendations.
"I am happy to see at long last there is some provision to give Senators, albeit not as much as one would expect, something to start," Government Senator Naval Clarke noted as he introduced the matter. In the report, it was recommended that Senators be paid a taxable honorarium "set at approximately twice the amount of the highest board fees paid in the public service from time to time." However, it was also maintained that no change should be made in the emoluments paid to Ministers, such as Information Minister Burchell Whiteman and Justice Minister A.J. Nicholson, who are drawn from the Senate. The specific recommendations, (22) and (23), came in response to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's request that the Oliver Clarke-led committee "examine the allowances presently paid to non-ministerial members of the Senate and recommend such adjustments as appear necessary."
Adding her comments, Senator Deika Morrison commended the committee for conveying the need for the public to become more involved in understanding the compensation for and work done by the country's parliamentarians. At the same time, Senator Whiteman made note of the committee's recommendation that a new Parliament building be constructed.
"It is important that the public understands what we are about here. I find it satisfying that the committee has looked at the conditions under which we work," he said.
On the other side of the House, Senator Anthony Johnson, Leader of Opposition Business, said he and his colleagues were grateful for the time the committee put into examining parliamentary salaries. In February this year, the issue stirred controversy when it was reported that Members of Parliament (MPs) had received a massive pay increase, pushing their salary from just over $1 million to $2 million per annum.
The Prime Minister, responding to the storm of criticism that followed, subsequently put a freeze on further increases to MPs, pending the findings of the review committee. With those findings and recommendations now tabled in Parliament, the Prime Minister has established a bipartisan committee to examine the 60-page report. That committee, chaired by Dr. Omar Davies, the Minister of Finance and Planning, and comprised of the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the leaders of Government business in both houses and one backbencher from each side, is expected to complete its own report by the end of the calendar year, allowing for a debate on the matter.
