Secretaries' Pay Under Scrutiny

Secretaries in Australia’s Commonwealth public service are now earning over a million dollars — sparking outrage and a Senate bill to cap pay at $430K. Though the bill failed, it ignited a full Remuneration Tribunal review, including an unusual public consultation. The review examines how these top salaries ballooned — especially after a 20% jump in the 90s and a later, less explained surge — while revealing a wild pay gap compared to senior executives below them. The tribunal’s focus is on fixing a broken system, not private sector comparisons, and some suggest secretaries might even need pay cuts to fix the chaos in executive pay. A more modest gap could align Commonwealth pay with state levels without harming recruitment — prestige and power would still be the real draw. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/e677a26e10245395