Queensland state MP salaries will increase by 2.58 per cent in April 2015, with their annual base salary jumping to $152,688, Queensland's Independent Remuneration Tribunal has this morning ruled.
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That is a pay rise of $3840 a year or $320 extra a month.
This ruling comes the day after Premier Anntastacia Palaszczuk wrote to QIRT chair, Professor Tim Brailsford, asking that the QIRT take into account Labor's election promise that state MP's salary increases not exceed the general percentage increase of public servants.
Public servants in 2014 received an average 2.2 per cent public sector wage increase, with lowest-paid public servants receiving an extra three per cent "safety net" increase from the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission of up to $32 a week in August 2014.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's total salary package of $379,160 will also increase by 2.58 per cent from April 6.
The Premier's current salary package - finalised in August 2013 – now includes the base salary of $148,848, plus an additional salary of $230,312 and backdated to 1 July 2013.
The tribunal's ruling on Thursday morning follows an evaluation of the salary package of MPs in all Australian states, after the previous system where State MPs salaries were pegged to a Federal MP was scrapped.
It found Queensland MP's pay levels - at January 2015 - are ranked fourth of all state and territory MLA's, with salary package increases since July 2013 ranging from 2.25 per cent to 6.00 per cent.
New South Wales MPs have had the lowest pay increases (2.25 per cent) since July 2013, taking their base salary to $149, 541, however South Australia and Tasmania did not have any increases.
Canberra MLA's received the highest pay increase (6 per cent), but their base salary is mid-range of State MLAs.
MLA salary packages at January 2015:
1 - Western Australia - $154, 223; up 3.76 per cent.
2 - South Australia - $153,130; zero increase.
3 - New South Wales - $149,541; increase by 2.25 per cent.
4 - Queensland - $148,848; increase of 3.012 per cent.
5 - Northern Territory - $147, 416; increase of 3 per cent.
6 - Victoria - $144, 497; increase of 2.5 per cent.
7- Australian Capital Territory - $132,775; increase of 6 per cent.
8 - Tasmania - $118,466; zero increase.
All states and territories will make changes to the MLA pay scales between April and August this year, the tribunal reports.
Their evaluation finds that pegging a State MP's salary to a Federal MP is "tenuous at best" and believes it is better to compare with MLAs in other states.
"A comparison to the Commonwealth is tenuous because of the lack of direct equivalence of roles and policy matters," it reports.
"The Tribunal continues to consider that comparison of MP base salary across states is more valid than a comparison with the Commonwealth."
The report evaluates economic activity, community wage growth and inflation figures as part of its analysis.
It finds that wage increases have begun to fall behind the level of inflation.
"Over the last financial year the average increase in non-MP salary indices, including the public sector, SES and the private sector in Queensland was 1.98%," it reports.
"In comparison the CPI increase over the same period was 3.22%.
"A comparison of averages over both the last five and ten years reveals that increases to the MP base salary have been less than the increases in average weekly earnings of the public and private sector, but more than the increase in core public service salary."
It uses the Queensland Government's inflation figure of 2.5 per cent and predicts that will remain for the next 12 months.
"The CPI forecast for the end of the current financial year is 2.5% which is expected to be maintained through the 2015-16 financial year," it says.
"Similarly the wage price index for the current financial year is expected to be 2.5% subsequently rising to 3.0% in the 2015-16 financial year."
In its research of public sector wages, the tribunal found that teachers, police, nurses, mid-wives, medical officers, health workers, ambulance and fire rescue employees received an average weekly earnings increase of 2.43 per cent over 2013-14.
