Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has awarded additional staff to three ministers, Defence Minister Richard Marles, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, at a total cost of $550,000, as crossbench MPs accuse him of failing to play fair over his sole discretion to set staffing levels for all federal politicians. The hires, made between May and October, come amid pressure from One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and independent senator Fatima Payman to hand the power to an independent body.
The government now employs 433 adviser-level staff across its 30 ministers, with a maximum total remuneration of a little more than $96 million. The shadow ministry, by comparison, employs 92 advisers on a maximum total of just above $19 million.
The prime minister’s sole discretion to decide how many higher-paid advisers each MP can hire has drawn growing scrutiny. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and independent Senator Fatima Payman have both pressured Albanese to hand the power to an independent body, and integrity experts and crossbench MPs have repeatedly called for the change over fears the prime minister is “weaponising” his authority.
The latest data, accurate as of October 1, shows Marles and Mulino each hired an adviser-grade 3 staffer with a base salary of up to $167,530, and McBain hired an adviser-grade 2 staffer with a base salary of up to $113,521. All three can also collect $35,387 in allowances. Marles now has 20 advisers, McBain eight and Mulino seven.
Earlier this week, this masthead reported that One Nation MP David Farley rejected an unsolicited offer from Albanese to employ an additional staffer on a $200,000 salary package, over concerns the prime minister was seeking to influence the lower-house politician. Similar reporting revealed that Albanese wrote a letter guaranteeing 15 staff to the Greens three days before they helped reject an inquiry into his power to allocate staff, allowed Senator Tammy Tyrrell to retain additional staff when she joined Labor, and offered then-opposition leader Sussan Ley extra staff for support on freedom-of-information law changes.
Payman is the only independent in the parliament who has no advisers; she believes Albanese is punishing her for defecting from the Labor Party.
Albanese defended the staffing decisions, saying he had increased the staffing allocation to all federal MPs during his time as prime minister. While every MP can now employ five electorate officers (up from four), with a base salary of up to $102,681, Albanese retains complete control over discretionary adviser posts, which for ministers can pay up to $317,152 and for other MPs up to $167,530.
The offices of Albanese, Marles, McBain and Mulino were all contacted for comment but none responded prior to publication.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The prime minister’s sole control over parliamentary staffing levels affects the capacity of opposition and crossbench MPs to scrutinise government, raising concerns about a conflict of interest.
- At stake is more than $96 million in taxpayer-funded adviser salaries; the current system gives a single political actor authority over resourcing for the entire parliament.
- The controversy follows a series of reported staff offers and deals that crossbench MPs say amount to attempts at influence, potentially undermining public trust in the independence of parliament.
Background
The prime minister has sole discretion to allocate additional high-paid advisers to any MP in the federal parliament. MPs’ base salaries are set by the independent Remuneration Tribunal, but staffing top-ups beyond the base electorate-officer allocation are entirely at the prime minister’s discretion. Integrity experts and crossbench MPs have long argued this power should be transferred to an independent body to avoid any perception that staffing decisions are used to secure political support.
Key Perspectives
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: defends the increases, saying he has raised staffing for all federal MPs and that the allocations are based on need.
Crossbench MPs (including Pauline Hanson, Fatima Payman, David Farley) and integrity experts: accuse Albanese of failing to play fair and say the power should be handed to an independent body; Farley rejected a staff offer he saw as an attempt at undue influence.
Senator Fatima Payman: believes she is being punished for leaving the Labor Party, having no advisers while other independents do.
Greens and One Nation: have joined forces with Labor in some votes but continue to criticise the process.
What to Watch
- Whether the government responds to growing calls to refer staffing decisions to the Remuneration Tribunal or another independent body.
- Any further offers or rejections involving crossbench MPs in coming sitting weeks.
- The next report on ministerial staff numbers, which will show whether the allocation trend continues.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedIntegrity experts and crossbench MPs fear Albanese is “weaponising” his power over staffing.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Integrity experts and crossbench MPs have repeatedly called for the power to be handed to an independent body over fears the prime minister is “weaponising” his power.”
- SupportedAlbanese awarded three ministers extra staff worth a total of $550,000 amid crossbench accusations that he is not playing fair.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has awarded three ministers additional staffers worth a total of $550,000, as crossbench MPs accuse him of failing to play fair over his power to decide opponents’ staffing levels.”
- SupportedAlbanese defended the staffing decisions by saying he had increased staffing allocations for all federal MPs during his time as prime minister.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Albanese defended his provision of staffing on Thursday, saying he had increased the staffing allocation to all federal MPs during his time as prime minister.”
- SupportedMarles, McBain and Mulino each hired an additional staff member between May and October.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Defence Minister Richard Marles, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino each hired an additional staff member between May and October”
- SupportedPauline Hanson and Fatima Payman pressured Albanese to hand staffing-allocation power to an independent body.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “with both One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and independent senator Fatima Payman heaping pressure on Albanese to hand the power to an independent body.”
- SupportedThe government has 433 adviser-level staff across its 30 ministers, with maximum total remuneration of a little over $96 million.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “The government now employs 433 adviser-level staff among their 30 ministers, with a maximum total remuneration for the cohort of a little more than $96 million.”
- SupportedThe shadow ministry has 92 advisers with maximum total remuneration just above $19 million.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “By comparison, the shadow ministry currently employs 92 advisers on a maximum total remuneration of just above $19 million.”
- SupportedMarles and Mulino each hired an adviser grade 3 staffer with a base salary of up to $167,530; McBain hired an adviser grade 2 staffer with a base salary of up to $113,521.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Marles and Mulino had each hired one “adviser 3” grade staffer with a base salary up to $167,530. McBain hired an “adviser 2″ grade staffer with a base salary up to $113,521.”
- SupportedThe three staffers can each collect $35,387 in allowances.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “All three staffers can also collect $35,387 in allowances.”
- SupportedMarles has 20 advisers, McBain has eight and Mulino has seven.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Marles now has 20 advisers, McBain has eight and Mulino has seven.”
- SupportedPayman is the only independent in parliament with no advisers.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Payman is the only independent in the parliament who has no advisers.”
- SupportedPayman believes Albanese is punishing her for defecting from the Labor Party.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “The senator believes Albanese is punishing her for defecting from the Labor Party during the last term of parliament.”