MINISTERS' SALARIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24783, 6 December 1941, Page 8

MINISTERS' SALARIES

CONTRIBUTIONS TO POOL MR SEMPLE'S EXPLANATION The disclosure that Ministers of the Labour Government paid between £3OO and £4OO of their Civil. List salary to the pool shared by Labour members of Parliament was made by the Minister of Railways (Mr R. Semple). at Runanga, when he denied a suggestion by a section of the audience that some politicians were getting rich in spite of taxation. Laughter came from a section when Mr Semple replied that the banking accounts of the men in the Government representing the working class were not more than those men working in mines, mills and factories. "I know my colleagues in politics," said the .Minister, commenting on the doubts of some of the men. "They are mere wage earners. When we took over the honorarium for members of Parliament was not sufficient to keep members, and we agreed to cut up our Ministerial salaries so that the members could pay their way. No other Government has ever done that. Ministers of the Crown contribute between £3OO and £4OO of their salary so that members can live in decency. "And then we have rat-bags in the audience telling us that Ministers are getting rich. The Ministers have to keep themselves on the breadline to keep the others out of debt," he declared. Further interjections came from the back of the hall, and the Mayor (Mr E Kennedy) warned an interjector that if he did not desist he would be removed. , • , , "What about free .speech? asked the man. , . " You can have free speech if you rent this hall, but free speech does not extend to an individual with a voice like -a wounded kookaburra." replied Mr Semple.