“If I don’t understand the legislation and I can’t convey it, if it’s complex or controversial, it will be very difficult to vote on government legislation.”
The couple also raised concerns that Jenkins’ review of House of Culture culture highlighted staff shortages as something that had contributed to poor workplace culture and staff exhaustion. Both senators called for the cut to be reversed.
Pocock and Lambie’s warning follows another similar one from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, who said the default position would be for her two senators to vote against all government legislation.
The only remaining Labor senator would be Ralph Babet of the United Australia Party.
The new members of the lower house, who are due to arrive in Canberra on Tuesday to face the 47th parliament, are also furious with the measure and working on a possible joint letter to the prime minister asking him to reverse the cut to advisers.
Sophie Scamps, Zoe Daniel, Monique Ryan, Allegra Spender and Kylea Tink ousted the Liberals from parliament. Credits: Jessica Hromas, Penny Stephens, Luis Enrique Ascui, James Alcock, Getty Images
Former independent MP Tony Windsor said the measure showed the government was “petrified” of cross-section MPs in the next election.
Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel said that if Albanese really wanted better government, then “you will surely enable the independent cross-bank instead of ennobling it and drowning it in work”.
“This could be very badly counterproductive for Labor.”
North Sydney MP Kylea Tink said the withdrawal of advisers would impair her ability to be an effective MP and was “really disappointing”.
“I hope it’s the word ‘propose’ [in the letter] it means there is a bit of room to increase the staff, this is a job 24 hours a day for me and my staff, ”he said.
“Unless there is staff in the Library of Parliament … dedicated to North Sydney and can go there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I don’t think this cut is an appropriate measure.”
Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps said the staff cuts “will present a huge challenge for the cross-bank to effectively carry out the work we need to do in the federal parliament” and will ask the prime minister to rethink the cut.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said she had only had two advisers in opposition and that “we are all making cuts and savings”.
“I think it’s just over $ 1.5 million in relation to the staffing on our side of the chamber and we have to be cautious in the future. The budget is in a terrible shape and we all have to tighten up. the belt, ”he said.
Reducing the allocation of advisers to the 12 lower house councilors from 48 to 15 (Rebekha Sharkie, Helen Haines and Bob Katter have been given two advisers due to their large electorate) would reduce the annual salary bill by 6,785. 856 to $ 2,120,580 a year, a much bigger saving. than the $ 1.5 million the job had done.
Loading
Advisors play a crucial role in analyzing draft legislation, working with amendments, meeting with stakeholders and voters, and dealing with the media.
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2010 assigned an independent parliamentarian an adviser, who earns up to a maximum of $ 141,372 annually. This rose to three advisers under Malcolm Turnbull and then four under Scott Morrison.