[Greens-Media] Auditor-General joins critical chorus on MP super

[Hans VanLeeuwen]

Auditor-General joins critical chorus on MP super
Media release - December 1, 2004

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has welcomed today's report from the
Auditor-General which calls for a review of politicians' extraordinarily
generous superannuation scheme.
 
"The Auditor-General is spot-on when he says that the superannuation
scheme for MPs needs review," Ms Rhiannon said.
 
"It's now almost a year since Premier Carr said he was going to fix the
system, but he has done absolutely nothing.
 
"He waited for Eric Roozendaal and Fred Nile to be certain of their
seats on the gravy train, but what excuse is there now for further
inaction?
 
"Is Mr Carr waiting again, to ensure that the Labor hacks who replace
him and Treasurer Egan also get a taxpayer-funded pension for life?
 
"The Auditor-General asks whether the MP's scheme is 'fair and
reasonable in contemporary circumstances'. This is a polite way of
putting it. The scheme must be the most generous of any employee in
Australia.
 
"Whether it be drinking on the job or putting money aside for
retirement, I have consistently called for politicians to live by the
rules they set for everybody else.
 
"But Premier Carr is unwilling to actually bring in the reforms he
promised," Ms Rhiannon said.


Hans van Leeuwen
Media Adviser, Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon
Tel: (61 2) 9230 3551
Fax: (61 2) 9230 3550
Mob: 0425 310 562
hans.vanleeuwen at parliament.nsw.gov.au