Papua New Guinea pollies get a pay rise as rest rough it

* Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific editor
* From: The Australian
* November 27, 2010 12:00AM

PAPUA New Guinea's MPs have voted themselves a 52 per cent pay rise, immediately before adjourning parliament for six months.

They will earn $32,000 a year, compared with the average income per head of $1400. Prime Minister Michael Somare will earn $105,000 a year after Thursday's vote.

Opposition MPs walked out when the new Public Services Minister Moses Maladina proposed the pay hike, as urged by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The commission comprises the Prime Minister, parliamentary Speaker, Opposition Leader, Chief Justice, and heads of the departments of personnel management and of labour and employment.

The pay hike, based on a review by US-based consultancy the Hay Group, will cost an initial $13 million, including backpay for last year. The MPs' pay rise came after a report was published by Care Australia this week saying PNG was suffering a "chronic humanitarian emergency".


Julia Newton-Howes, the chief executive of Care Australia, said a survey in PNG's eastern highlands showed that about 191 babies die in every 1000 live births - compared with fewer than five in Australia.

In the Yelia region those surveyed earn on average under $40 a year.

People in more than half the 260 households surveyed had eaten only one staple food - sweet potato - in the previous day.

Ms Newton-Howes said: "What little government-funded services they have access to, seem to make very little difference to their lives."

Unbelievable!...while the rest of the country suffers these idiots give themselves a pat on the back and a golden handshake at the same time. Somare it is time for you to be accountable for every toea that you have robbed off the people of png along with your equally useless son and kronies who call themselves ministers and christians in the same breath.

PNG is going to the dogs. When will the public rise up and kick these idiots out?

I am saddened by the fact that most of my people in PNG are not full educated to know their rights.

This will continue for a long time...until things eventually change for better at least.

And who is paying for this payrise? All the people that have nothing and are paid 60 toea an hour for unskilled labor and 2 kina an hour for skilled labor.....WTF is wrong with these fuk hets.....they have lost touch with the people and reality.!!

Poloiticans and beurocrats get a pay rise while the country is going backwards.

When will the public rise up and kick these idiots out??

mi less pinis! Somare and his corrupt gov't should go.They have done enough damage to the country.

All opposition walked out that day in protest.