CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 307, 28 December 1944, Page 4

CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS

PARLIAMENTARY EMOLUMENTS

(To the Editor) When the Government decided to increase the salaries of members of Parliament, the reason given out was that the existing honoraria were not sufficient to provide a reasonable standard of living. This argument does not hold because (ex. cept for Cabinet Ministers who have always been well paid), Parliament, even under war conditions, is onlv a part time job. It is safe to sav that not a single private member devotes all his time to the country's business. They have other jobs that take up their spare time. Lawyers on entering Parliament do »«? close down their legal businessesfarmers still run their farms- and business men their shops and fan! tories. Neither do trades union secretaries resign their union •frork Parliament in considering a rise £ members' salaries should have done one of two things: (1) Ignored entirely the question of living stand ard, or (2) requested members to dis close their private incomes. Then there is the "lump sum" allowance for expenses, which leads to abu<?P and should be cut out. The standard of living of the taxpayers, who haw to find the honoraria, was not even mentioned although most of them are not very far from, if not right on, the "bread line." As for th« Upper House, a far better case couH have been made out for abolition than for increased pay. Elector, have proverbially short memories but this act of generosity confers on members by themselves nem t con., should be remembered on ne£ I election day. • M | ACCOUNTANT.