Politics
$9m bill for ministerial minders
Peter Wels Examiner
TASMANIAN taxpayers are expected to spend nearly $9 million on the salaries of political staff to Tasmania’s Cabinet ministers this financial year.
Figures released to The Examiner under Freedom of Information laws show:
•The total cost of ministerial staff salaries this financial year is expected to reach $8,777,198.
•Salary costs within the Government Media Unit, which houses the bulk of the Government’s so-called “spin doctors”, will this year total $1,152,626.
•Ministerial staff salaries within the Premier’s office alone have reached $2,159,338.
Last financial year, salary costs within the Premier’s office were $1,579,779, while in the previous year – the last full year under Paul Lennon – salary costs were $1,400,416.
A Government spokesman said Mr Lennon had relieved himself of ministerial duties towards the end of his time as Premier, which had some impact on the level of ministerial staff salaries.
The spokesman said funding from the previous year also did not include two departmental liaison officers with salaries totalling more than $200,000 and since last financial year staff had received a 4 per cent pay rise totalling $63,000.
Administrative staff in the Premier’s office also received an additional $45,000.
The next-highest staff costs were within Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn’s office – at $943,024 a year – with staff costs in both Deputy Premier Lara Giddings and Treasurer Michael Aird’s offices costing more than $800,000 a year.
Mr Lennon’s former chief- of-staff, Daniel Leesong, remained the highest-paid ministerial staffer – earning nearly $200,000 in his role as head of office to Police Minister Jim Cox.
Mr Leesong, a former head of the Tourism Industry Council, was appointed chief-of-staff to the Premier in 2007 but was replaced when Mr Bartlett became Premier. His salary made up more than one-third of the money spent on staff salaries within Mr Cox’s office – with the total spent on salaries in the department just under $600,000.
The other most highly paid staffers were Mr Bartlett’s chief-of-staff Terry Field, Mr Aird’s economic adviser Anton Voss and Government Media Unit head Rod Scott, who each earn $182,947 a year.
Government spin doctors were earning between $79,834 and $96,798 a year.