Zali Steggall seeks crowdfunding for extra staff after Albanese’s cuts | michaelkoziol
Teal independent MP Zali Steggall has asked supporters to crowdfund additional staff for her office after Prime Minister Anthony AlbaneseThe Warringah MP emailed subscribers soliciting donations to fund the extra staffer and told theit looked likely she would reach her goal – though she disliked involving money in politics. She also said she had obtained legal advice and run it past the Department of Finance.
She said other teal independents had made similar submissions and would likely follow her lead on crowdfunding for staff. Non-senior advisers to federal MPs are typically paid between $95,796 and $141,372 under the MOPS Act.“We should not be having to self-fund for the minimum adequate resources to service our community. It is incredibly unfair to provide different resources to different independents.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was unfair crossbench MPs had more staff than government MPs and opposition frontbenchers.One Nation’s two senators and new independent David Pocock have also been allocated an extra staffer amid concern about legislative delay in the upper house.In June, Albanese defended his decision to cut back on crossbenchers’ staff, saying that giving them eight staffers was largesse on Morrison’s part and unfair to government and opposition MPs.
Steggall said the workload borne by parliamentary staffers was significant, including legislative drafting, media, events and meetings, diary management and policy work. “Unlike party MPs, I do not have the benefit of party policy and media units,” she told supporters in the email.
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