TO Eliza Jones of Longford, who rang this week to express astonishment at our public sector indulgence, I have kept my promise.
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Here is the extent of the indulgence.
Tasmania’s next governor will be one of the highest paid in Australia, earning $427,245 a year plus entitlements.
The package with entitlements, like superannuation, is actually $611,000 next year – for a population of 513,000.
The New South Wales governor earns a salary of $445,000 for a population of 7.4 million.
The Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove earns a mere $425,000.
Tasmania has one departmental public servant for every 20 Tasmanians.
Victoria has one for every 210 Victorians.
The more you delve into this stuff the more you despair.
Tasmania’s chief justice is up there among the highest paid in Australia if not the highest, earning $474,717 plus perks.
The Victorian chief justice is on a bit less and the NSW chief justice is on a lot less on the latest figures available.
The head of the highest court in America, the US chief justice, earns just $254,000.
We’re the modern version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver - squatting like a juvenile pauper in an abandoned palace, and always with a begging bowl.
President Barack Obama earns $443,000 a year; Premier Will Hodgman earns $305,000.
The British Prime Minister David Cameron earns just $256,000.
A US congressman earns $193,000 a year while a Member for Lyons in the Tasmanian House of Assembly earns $168,490 in salary and allowances.
Go figure.
Victoria has nine government departments forapopulation of almost six million.
Tasmania has eight for 512,000.
Victoria has one council for every 73,000 Victorians. Tasmania has one council for every 18,000 Tasmanians.
The NSW director of public prosecutions earns a salary of $387,200. The Tasmanian DPP earns $427,245.
The mayor of Launceston earns $110,000 a year foracity with a population of 106,000. The mayor of New York earns $249,729 for a city with 8.3 million.
Victorians each owe $3727 in unfunded public sector superannuation liabilities.
Tasmanians each owe $10,721.
This is what the rest of Australia is on about. Tasmania is a jumped up, pampered little kingdom with inflated public costs and politicians who can’t help themselves with taxpayers’ money.
The Tasmanian government receives almost two thirds of its annual income from other states, which surely must grumble at the way we prance around like opinionated, self-appointed, oil rich Saudi royalty.
We’re the modern version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver - squatting like a juvenile pauper in an abandoned palace, and always with a begging bowl.
In this context the spending cuts unveiled in Peter Gutwein’s budget look puerile and of course they would when you consider how tiny we are in terms of land and population.
Mr Gutwein can’t afford to slash and burn because the fragile economy could not cope.
You can’t undo in a year what successive and irresponsible governments have built up over decades.
Former premiere Tony Rundle in 1997 tried to do what other states have done and sell our energy assets to bring the budget into line.
He was monstered at the 1998 election.
Likewise he tried to cut the number of councils but again suffered from the politics of a scare campaign.
No Tasmanian government can make the financial changes required and survive politically.
It will take the resolve of the other states and territories to cut Tasmania’s cloth and force the ‘‘Golden Apple Isle’’ to finally get rid of this pretentious opulence and grandeur.
Dear Eliza, I trust you agree.