Doubled salaries and back

pay for Cooks politicians

Cook Islands politicians have voted to more than double their salaries and allowances, and made the increases retrospective to April 1, 1972. The annual bill is now $98,500, an in crease of $57,200 on the pre-April 1, 1972, figure of $41,300. The Opposi tion made some protests about the increases when the Legislative As sembly debated the bill, but there was no suggestion any would refuse to take the new salary.

These are the new salaries and allowances, with the old rates in brackets: Premier, Mr Albert Henry, $B,OOO salary ($6,000), representation allow ance, $2,000 ($500); ministers, $6,500 salary ($4,000), representation allowance, $1,500 ($200); Speaker, $5,000 salary ($2,500), allowance, $5OO ($100); members, salary, $2,000 ($500). The sitting allowance for members was repealed and an allow ance of $5OO substituted. The premier and ministers will no longer receive specified travelling allowances. The cabinet will fix these from time to time. The bill also provided an ad ditional non-accountable allowance to cover incidental expenses.

Mr Henry said a person elected to represent his people should be given sufficient money to do every thing he could for them. He felt the rewards provided were satisfactory, but time would tell Opposition members waxed wrath ful over the increases, Dr Robati (Rakahanga) declaring that if the people had been told about the salary increases before the elections, the Cook Islands Party would probably not have won.

Dr Tom Davis, Opposition Leader, charged that the increases were at the expense of the outer islands and other points made by the Opposition were that members should work to help the people and not just for monetary rewards; the money would be better spent on water and power supplies for the outer islands; the increases were too high, especially with the rise in the cost of living.

For the government, Minister of Financial Services Mr G. A. Henry said that, percentagewise, the Premier was getting less than anyone else. Ministers, and the Premier in particular, were on duty 24 hours a day. The work load had increased and a boss should get more than his servants.

Mr A. P. Short, Minister of Justice and Land Development, said the Cook Islands politicians were some of the lowest paid in the world. The premier and ministers could not establish businesses, but opposition members could. If public servants received increased salaries, ministers should as well.

Mr Albert Henry said he was patron of many organisations and it cost him thousands of dollars every year to meet his public duties.

.. But Not In

The Marshalls

Up in Majuro in the Marshall Islands, the District Administrator, Mr Oscar Deßrum, vetoed a Nitijela (council) measure which would have doubled the salaries of legislators who live in Majuro from $l5 to $3O a day, and given the same members an “incidental allowance” of $2O a day, at present only provided to outer island delegates to the Nitijela.

Mr Deßrum wrote to Nitijela Speaker, Allan Anien, that it was “. . . . not in keeping with the Trust Territory Code of Ethics established by the Congress of Micronesia to ‘give a full day’s labour for a full day’s pay’.” He also said that some members of the Nitijela received a full day’s pay for only a “few minutes’ work”.

Other factors which led to the veto were low copra prices, decreasing incomes and increasing prices in the outer islands and a cutback in pro grammes and projects because of binding problems. He also failed to see the need for the $2O a day incidental allowance as it would go to members with no apparent real need for it. The $2O allowance was less difficult to justify for outer islands members as they had to pay for food and housing and had other expenses while living at the district centre.

Mr Deßrum said many Marshallese workers earned between 60c and 70c an hour, while supporting big families. Thus taxes could not justifiably be used for incidental ex penses for legislators who were already making $l5 each day while serving in the Nitijela.