Under federal legislation each MP is entitled to five electorate officers, but the provision of extra “personal staff” remains entirely under the prime minister’s discretion. The Greens’ renewed staffing allocation, which took effect on October 12, includes two senior adviser positions paying up to $205,808 respectively, well above the $77,071 to $102,681 range for electorate officers.
Three days later, on October 15, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson put forward a motion in the Senate to have a “safe staffing guarantee” bill referred to a Senate inquiry. The bill would establish mandatory minimum staffing levels for independent, minor party and opposition MPs, removing them from prime ministerial discretion. Labor, the Coalition and the Greens voted the motion down.
“One Nation has six MPs and just five personal staff. Yet, Labor, the Liberals and the Greens joined forces to block an inquiry into fair staffing for independents and minor parties,” Hanson told this masthead. “Our request to the prime minister includes advance staff to plan visits, coordinate security and liaise with the AFP so our MPs and staff can work safely in the community. These are basic responsibilities. The safety of our people should never be subject to political games.”
Hanson has twice written to Albanese requesting a staffing review after One Nation achieved minor party status following Barnaby Joyce’s defection from the Nationals. Her August letter requesting proportional staffing to the Greens, which would more than double One Nation’s staff from four to nine, has not yet received a response.
Independent senator Fatima Payman, who left Labor last term over the party’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war, has repeatedly asked for additional staff without receiving a formal response. Payman, independent senator David Pocock and independent MP Dai Le have all publicly criticised the system. Pocock currently fundraises to cover the equivalent of 2.1 full-time staff for casework and correspondence. “Staffing allocation shouldn’t be able to be used as a bargaining chip or to reward or punish parliamentarians. The current process needs reform,” Pocock said.
Dr Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the system was “clearly open to abuse” and needed immediate reform. “The leader of the government may perceive it to be useful to hobble the ability of other members of parliament to hold the government to account. It is for this reason that the UK, Canada and New Zealand use robust systems to determine allocations,” Williams said. The Greens have been contacted for comment. Several crossbench MPs and their staff, speaking under condition of anonymity to protect their safety, said understaffing directly impacts their ability to manage threats from the public.