Legislative Council Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Ministerial Staff MINISTERIAL STAFF The Hon. R.I. LUCAS Legislative Council MINISTERIAL STAFF The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Premier a question about ministerial staff salaries. Leave granted. The Hon. R.I. LUCAS Legislative Council The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Members will be aware that ministers in this government have almost 300 staff in their ministerial offices, many of whom are media advisers, spin doctors or staff employed under ministerial contract. According to the last public announcements, some of the salaries paid to these officers are as high, for example, as $165,000 for Mr Nick Alexandrides (who works for the Premier) and $147,000 for Ms Jillian Bottrall; and I think they were in the Government Gazette in July last year. Information provided to the Liberal Party is that, just prior to Christmas, the Premier and the government made a decision to give all their media advisers, spin doctors and other ministerial advisers on contract a pay rise of 3.5 per cent, which was backdated to July last year. My questions are: 1.	Why did the Premier keep secret his government's decision made just prior to Christmas to give these staff a 3.5 per cent pay rise and to backdate it to 1 July last year? 2.	What was the exact date of the decision taken by the Premier and his government? 3.	When did these staff get their last pay increase prior to that, what was the level of that increase and was that increase also backdated? The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY Legislative Council Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:50): My understanding is that the previous increase the staff had would have been on the previous 1 July. It is my understanding that a 3.5 per cent increase was also given to senior public servants, and ministerial staff were given it at the same time. The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting: The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY Legislative Council The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: There is nothing secret about it. What is secret about it? I do not think there is anything particularly secret about it. Presumably, the flow-on would have gone to electoral and opposition staff; that is usually the way, and I have no problem with that. I would have thought a 3.5 per cent increase was relatively modest at a time when many others in the community such as medical practitioners—some of the medical staff in the Public Service—received a little bit more than that. I do not think there is anything mysterious about it, but I will refer the question to the Premier. In case there is anything I have not covered, I will give him the opportunity to respond, but I do not think there is anything particularly unusual or unique about that increase.