"Restrained"

MPs have been handed a $3,500 pay rise, with John Key getting a whopping $9,500. The Remuneration Authority calls this "restrained". Hardly. To point out the obvious: the CPI rose by 1.4%, and salary and wage rates by 1.7%. So why are MPs getting 2.2%?

I support well-paid MPs because it prevents corruption. But our MPs are already well-paid (and anyone who thinks $140,000 a year plus slush-fund isn't is completely disconnected from reality). What we have here is a political class elevating itself into the stratosphere. Not only does this worsen our spiralling inequality - it also further disconnects them from the people they purport to represent.

And then, to add insult to injury, they call it "restrained". Here's a hint: for the rest of the public sector, "restraint" means pay cuts and sackings, restructuring and a total loss of job security. Meanwhile, their bosses make out like bandits. And then MPs wonder why people think they're all greedy hypocrites? They've earned that reputation fair and square.