A question about teachers’ pay was among the more awkward questions put to the PM at Question Time in Parliament in recent weeks.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why has his Government prioritised pay increases of up to 80 percent for board directors, whilst offering schoolteachers a pay increase of only 1 percent—less than the rate of inflation, and effectively a pay cut?
Awkward?
Not for a fleet-footed Prime Minister.
In response, Christopher Luxon deftly gave a reason for lifting board directors pay by up to 80 per cent while disputing his inquisitor’s reference to a paltry 1 per cent for teachers:
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well, they’re two separate issues. One is, we need to make sure—when we’re spending a huge amount of Government spending—that our entities are well governed and well managed, and so that is about what director pay has been adjusted for. With respect to the second leg of the question around teacher pay, I think he has the numbers wrong.
The reference for wrong numbers looks suspiciously like a quibble.
According to the NZEI, the offer was 1%+1%+1% a year over the next three years.
But seriously – does Luxon imagine the inflation rate will be lower than that?
Or that 1%+1%+1% comes anywhere near 80%?
But Luxon was instructive about something else: he was saying that pay had to be hoisted to ensure state entities were well governed and well managed, but he was not so fussed about our kids being well taught.
We can only wonder what he said to Public Service Minister Judith Collins after she denied misleading the public when she claimed an average secondary teacher with a decade of experience was paid $147,000.
She did acknowledge she had “mixed up” her messaging.
Collins said she thought on average a teacher with 10 years’ experience was paid about $140,000 after the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) announced its intention to strike on Wednesday following six days of bargaining last week.
Speaking to reporters on her way into caucus on Tuesday, Collins admitted she had “mixed up [her] messages” and that she had apologised. But she still believes teachers are on a strong salary.
“[What is] Pretty clear is that high school teachers are paid well. Sixty per cent are paid over $100,000 a year,” she said. “After 10 years’ experience and picking up all the allowances available, [they can earn] up to $147,000 a year.”
Not too long after that, we learned of a splendid example of jobs for the boys.
The Government has appointed two senior National Party figures – former finance minister Steven Joyce and ex-chief of staff Wayne Eagleson – as Crown negotiators in city and regional deal talks with councils.
Eagleson, a former chief of staff to Prime Minister John Key, has been assigned to Auckland, while Joyce, the former finance and transport minister, will take charge in the Bay of Plenty.
The pair will join ex-Local Government NZ chief executive Malcolm Alexander, who has been appointed to lead talks in Central Otago Lakes, to broker the 10-year partnerships between central and local government on infrastructure, housing and economic growth.
The Government – fair to say – rejected any hint of cronyism.
Negotiators had been selected on their ability to secure the best deals for the Crown, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said, citing their ability to “navigate across multiple areas of work” including transport, finance and infrastructure.
And how much will they be paid?
That’s a state secret.
The negotiators’ pay rates and terms of appointment will not be made public.
Bishop said their contracts were “commercially sensitive” but included reimbursement of “actual and reasonable” expenses. Online meetings would be prioritised to minimise travel costs.
At much the same time we learned that Ministers have temporarily given themselves special powers to hike Crown board members’ fees providing they fall within the fee ranges.
OneNews reported:
The change in authorisation was revealed in a Cabinet paper that was released this week, which also included details of fee range increases of up to 80%.
In the paper, Public Service Minister Judith Collins justified the change by stating there was too much administration in the previous scheme.
“To manage the administrative burden in the implementation of the fee adjustments, I am seeking Cabinet approval for a temporary change to fee exception requirements for 12 months,” the paper stated.
“I propose that responsible Ministers approve all fee adjustment proposals during this period but should refer proposals to [Cabinet’s appointments and honours committee] and Cabinet for consideration where there are concerns or issues with the performance of a body, or the fee adjustment is above the new fee ranges.”
PoO relishes Collins’ talk of “responsible” Ministers.
Neither she nor her colleagues – we are sure – could ever be considered irresponsible.
The OneNews report noted that the maximum annual fee for board chairs has been increased from about $90,000 to $162,000.
This means a responsible Minister receiving a proposal from a board to hike a board chair’s fees by that amount could approve that adjustment without requiring approval from their Cabinet colleagues.
The appropriations committee that previously approved fee increases was made up of the most powerful ministers, including the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as chair and ACT
In a statement to OneNews, Collins reiterated much of the points in the Cabinet paper.
“The new process empowers Ministers to decide on fee increases within the new range without being referred to the Minister for the Public Service or a Cabinet committee, as that would be an unnecessary administrative burden,” she said.
This paves the way for Ministers (a) to appoint their buddies to plum state jobs and (b) decide their pay rates.
OneNews reminded us that former National Leader Simon Bridges chaired NZTA, former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett chaired Pharmac, and former National Minister David Bennett was on the boards of Quotable Value and the two statutory entities of the TAB.
Both major parties get into this caper, of course: Ruth Dyson is deputy chair of FENZ and the Natural Hazards commission; Fran Wilde is chair of Te Papa and the Asia Foundation and Steve Maharey was a former chair of Pharmac, ACC and Education New Zealand.
And let’s acknowledge there’s much to be said for reducing all that administrative how’s-your-father.
We could get rid of the Remuneration Authority – for example – and save a bucket of administrative money by allowing MPs to set their own pay rates and allowances.
Reducing paper work wouldn’t be the only benefit.
The PM no longer would have to explain why teachers and nurses are being treated miserably compared with state board directors when nobody knows what the directors are being paid.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
Awkward?
Not for a fleet-footed Prime Minister.
In response, Christopher Luxon deftly gave a reason for lifting board directors pay by up to 80 per cent while disputing his inquisitor’s reference to a paltry 1 per cent for teachers:
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well, they’re two separate issues. One is, we need to make sure—when we’re spending a huge amount of Government spending—that our entities are well governed and well managed, and so that is about what director pay has been adjusted for. With respect to the second leg of the question around teacher pay, I think he has the numbers wrong.
The reference for wrong numbers looks suspiciously like a quibble.
According to the NZEI, the offer was 1%+1%+1% a year over the next three years.
But seriously – does Luxon imagine the inflation rate will be lower than that?
Or that 1%+1%+1% comes anywhere near 80%?
But Luxon was instructive about something else: he was saying that pay had to be hoisted to ensure state entities were well governed and well managed, but he was not so fussed about our kids being well taught.
We can only wonder what he said to Public Service Minister Judith Collins after she denied misleading the public when she claimed an average secondary teacher with a decade of experience was paid $147,000.
She did acknowledge she had “mixed up” her messaging.
Collins said she thought on average a teacher with 10 years’ experience was paid about $140,000 after the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) announced its intention to strike on Wednesday following six days of bargaining last week.
Speaking to reporters on her way into caucus on Tuesday, Collins admitted she had “mixed up [her] messages” and that she had apologised. But she still believes teachers are on a strong salary.
“[What is] Pretty clear is that high school teachers are paid well. Sixty per cent are paid over $100,000 a year,” she said. “After 10 years’ experience and picking up all the allowances available, [they can earn] up to $147,000 a year.”
Not too long after that, we learned of a splendid example of jobs for the boys.
The Government has appointed two senior National Party figures – former finance minister Steven Joyce and ex-chief of staff Wayne Eagleson – as Crown negotiators in city and regional deal talks with councils.
Eagleson, a former chief of staff to Prime Minister John Key, has been assigned to Auckland, while Joyce, the former finance and transport minister, will take charge in the Bay of Plenty.
The pair will join ex-Local Government NZ chief executive Malcolm Alexander, who has been appointed to lead talks in Central Otago Lakes, to broker the 10-year partnerships between central and local government on infrastructure, housing and economic growth.
The Government – fair to say – rejected any hint of cronyism.
Negotiators had been selected on their ability to secure the best deals for the Crown, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said, citing their ability to “navigate across multiple areas of work” including transport, finance and infrastructure.
And how much will they be paid?
That’s a state secret.
The negotiators’ pay rates and terms of appointment will not be made public.
Bishop said their contracts were “commercially sensitive” but included reimbursement of “actual and reasonable” expenses. Online meetings would be prioritised to minimise travel costs.
At much the same time we learned that Ministers have temporarily given themselves special powers to hike Crown board members’ fees providing they fall within the fee ranges.
OneNews reported:
The change in authorisation was revealed in a Cabinet paper that was released this week, which also included details of fee range increases of up to 80%.
In the paper, Public Service Minister Judith Collins justified the change by stating there was too much administration in the previous scheme.
“To manage the administrative burden in the implementation of the fee adjustments, I am seeking Cabinet approval for a temporary change to fee exception requirements for 12 months,” the paper stated.
“I propose that responsible Ministers approve all fee adjustment proposals during this period but should refer proposals to [Cabinet’s appointments and honours committee] and Cabinet for consideration where there are concerns or issues with the performance of a body, or the fee adjustment is above the new fee ranges.”
PoO relishes Collins’ talk of “responsible” Ministers.
Neither she nor her colleagues – we are sure – could ever be considered irresponsible.
The OneNews report noted that the maximum annual fee for board chairs has been increased from about $90,000 to $162,000.
This means a responsible Minister receiving a proposal from a board to hike a board chair’s fees by that amount could approve that adjustment without requiring approval from their Cabinet colleagues.
The appropriations committee that previously approved fee increases was made up of the most powerful ministers, including the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as chair and ACT
In a statement to OneNews, Collins reiterated much of the points in the Cabinet paper.
“The new process empowers Ministers to decide on fee increases within the new range without being referred to the Minister for the Public Service or a Cabinet committee, as that would be an unnecessary administrative burden,” she said.
This paves the way for Ministers (a) to appoint their buddies to plum state jobs and (b) decide their pay rates.
OneNews reminded us that former National Leader Simon Bridges chaired NZTA, former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett chaired Pharmac, and former National Minister David Bennett was on the boards of Quotable Value and the two statutory entities of the TAB.
Both major parties get into this caper, of course: Ruth Dyson is deputy chair of FENZ and the Natural Hazards commission; Fran Wilde is chair of Te Papa and the Asia Foundation and Steve Maharey was a former chair of Pharmac, ACC and Education New Zealand.
And let’s acknowledge there’s much to be said for reducing all that administrative how’s-your-father.
We could get rid of the Remuneration Authority – for example – and save a bucket of administrative money by allowing MPs to set their own pay rates and allowances.
Reducing paper work wouldn’t be the only benefit.
The PM no longer would have to explain why teachers and nurses are being treated miserably compared with state board directors when nobody knows what the directors are being paid.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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