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By Lorraine Mendez
The Ministry of Finance is indicating that the stipend given to senators for attending sittings of the Upper House will remain unchanged while a new basis for determining adjustments to Senate stipends is finalised.
Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke cited media reports about the proposed increase in the stipend, communicated in a letter to the Clerk to the Houses of Parliament, dated September 14. The letter indicated that the stipend would be increased from $53,000 to $148,000.
But Dr. Clarke has sought to clarify that the increases will not be implemented, adding that he has asked the Financial Secretary to write to the Clerk with instructions to rescind her letter dated September 14.
He further explained that the correspondence followed a 2008 Cabinet decision that automatically indexed the stipend of the senators to twice the highest fee paid for service as a board chairman on a public body board.
Public body board fees were increased in 2019 and senate stipends were automatically adjusted effective April 1, 2020.
Dr. Clarke said in 2020 he met with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss the government's view of the unsustainability of the automatic peg and the likely unintended consequences.
Public body board fees were again increased effective April 1, 2023 with the highest paid fee being $74,000 per meeting for a board chair.
The People's National Party today indicated that it would not support the proposed 179 per cent increase in the per meeting stipend for senators.
Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate Peter Bunting said the concern of the opposition caucus in the Senate revolves around the size of the increase, its timing, and its insensitivity to the current national context.
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