In her most recent letter sent in August – seen by this masthead – Hanson requested proportional staffing to the Greens, who also have minor party status. Proportional staffing would more than double One Nation’s staff, from four to nine, and raise salaries so the party could attract more experienced employees. The letter has not yet had a response.
“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.”
Several crossbench MPs and their staff have told this masthead, under condition of anonymity to protect their safety, that understaffing directly impacts their ability to manage threats from the public.
On October 15, three days after the Greens’ renewed staffing allocation came into effect, Hanson put forward a motion in the Senate to have a “safe staffing guarantee” bill put before a Senate inquiry for reporting by the end of the year. The bill would establish mandatory minimum staffing levels for independent, minor party and opposition MPs, outside the remit of the prime minister’s discretion.
Labor, Greens and Coalition senators voted the motion down. The Greens have been contacted for comment.
Independent senator David Pocock, who voted for the motion, said: “Staffing allocation shouldn’t be able to be used as a bargaining chip or to reward or punish parliamentarians. The current process needs reform”.
Many independent MPs have relied on private fundraising to cover additional staffing costs in their offices. Pocock currently fundraises to pay the equivalent of 2.1 full-time staff responsible for casework and correspondence with constituents.
MPs must petition the prime minister for additional staffing. Payman has repeatedly pleaded for additional staff since she left Labor last term over the party’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war, but her requests have never received a formal response.
Payman, Le and One Nation MPs David Farley and Tyron Whitten are the only crossbench representatives without additional staff.
Dr Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the current system is “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 Remuneration Tribunal, which sets MP salaries, has been proposed as a better decision maker on staffing.
Beyond the capacity to select the number of staff each MP has, the prime minister also has the discretion to select which salary bands staff receive.
In the renewed Greens staffing agreement, Albanese provided for two senior advisers to be paid up-to $190,231 and $205,808 respectively. The five electorate officers each MP is entitled to currently earn between $77,071 and $102,681.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.