Parmar Parmjeet: Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParmar Parmjeet: Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading[Sitting date: 17 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2289. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr PARMJEET PARMAR (National): It is great to be able to speak on and support the Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill. First I would like to congratulate the Minister in charge the Hon Michael Woodhouse on the work that he has done on this bill in such a short time. The Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill sponsored by the Hon Michael Woodhouse is to amend the Remuneration Authority Act 1977. This bill is going through all stages today under urgency. This is because the latest increase which was determined by the Remuneration Authority was to increase the salary of members of Parliament by 3.56 percent. Although this decision was made independently of members of Parliament we should not be receiving this increase because it is disproportionate to increases in the public sector.When this issue was raised by the Prime Minister the Remuneration Authority referred to a specific criterion in the Remuneration Authority Act 1977 as the reason for this increase and that is why this change is necessary. This change will tie the salaries of members of Parliament to the public sector and will take away the Remuneration Authority’s discretion when setting the salaries of members of Parliament. Given that inflation is 0.8 percent this kind of increase is not necessary. I am really proud to be part of this team that believes in delivering for our Kiwi families and children. We are taking action; it is not just about talking—like the Greens we heard. This is not a new issue. This is not an issue that is raised for the first time. It is about fairness for the taxpayer’s dollar.The amendment will change the process of how the Remuneration Authority reviews the salaries of members of Parliament. So first it will take away the Remuneration Authority’s discretion whensetting the salaries of members of Parliament. Second it will make the average public sector pay movement the sole criterion for determining increases inthe salaries of members of Parliament. This will be backdated to 1 July 2014. This amendment will mean that the average annual percentage change in public sector pay as measured by Statistics New Zealand’s quarterly employment survey will be used to determinea member of Parliament’s salary. Using the quarterly employment survey will mean that the increases that members of Parliament will get will be in line with the wider public sector. The law change will be backdated to 1 July 2014 which means that the determination of 3.56 percent of the Remuneration Authority will not be awarded. This increasewill be somewhere around 1.5 percent.Currently the Remuneration Authorityhas to take into account several factors such as relativity to comparable positions and the requirements of the job. With this change the authority will just need to annually apply the average quarterly employment survey index for the June year to give an increase to members of Parliament. The Remuneration Authoritywill continue to have the ability to change the mix of cash and non-cash items in the overall pay package. This indexing of the salaries of members of Parliament to the quarterly employment survey will be done at the same time every year. This is after the publication of the quarterly employment survey in June every year. This will make sure that the increases we get are in line with those our teachers nurses and other workers get.If we get pay increases that are more than the public sector it is not a good look and this is not what our people expect from us. We need to lead by example—that is to do what we say and that is what our Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Key and the National-led Government are about. Pay and pay increases I understand are rewards for a person’s hard work dedication and commitment to that person’s work. As well as that I know and I recognise that members of Parliament work hard they are committed and they are dedicated. But we are not here for the financial reward. I am here to serve our people; I am here to serve our country. So I am really honoured to be part of this team that believes in delivering more for less. It is about listening to our people and it is about being fair to our people so I support this bill.