Political staffers working for federal MPs and Senators have agreed to a new employment agreement that will give them a two per cent pay rise this year.
The agreement locks in the increase in budgeted spending on political staffers at $240 million in 2016-17, after the Turnbull government recruited 13 extra minders - as well as a greater share of more senior political operatives - for its Ministers since May.
Supporters of the agreement outnumbered those against by just 15 votes - 714 to 699.
The move comes as spending on political staffers exceeded budget by more than $16 million in 2015-16.
An email circulated by the Australian Services Union on Monday morning stated the union is considering challenging the outcome on the basis that some staff could not access the voting site.
Emails between staff seen by SBS News suggest the agreement was secured despite complaints of the absence of a domestic violence leave policy.
One in eight Australian employers offer paid domestic violence leave, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, but Employment Minister Michaelia Cash suggests such leave may create a “perverse disincentive” to hiring women.
Another source of frustration was that ordinary staffers were only provided a two per cent pay rise at the same time an increase of higher-paying positions for staffers working for government Ministers was recorded.
Malcolm Turnbull’s Chief of Staff Andrew Clarke earns approximately $600,000 - more than even the Prime Minister himself.
The Prime Minister said last week Mr Clarke was "one of the most experienced public servants in this city and that's obviously been reflected in his ongoing remuneration”.
The government’s Ministerial staffer pool grew from 425 in May to 438 in October, and the number of positions of senior staff grew while lower paid positions shrunk.
Malcolm Turnbull has recruited extra political staff this year. Source: AAP
In only one year in the past decade has spending on staffers reduced, under Tony Abbott in 2015.
Professor John Wanna, from the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU, said advisers are recruited to provide trusted assistance to Ministers, but they are increasingly used for political tactics.
"They’ve got advisers tracking donations to the other side, tracking opponents, tracking every speech their opposing shadow (counterpart) makes,” he said.
"They’re using a lot of these advisers for effectively tactical stuff - not policy - and that’s one of the reasons why they have grown, because you’ve got people searching databases to find dirt on others.”
The Minister of Finance, Mathias Cormann, declined to comment on the increase to staffing numbers this year, directing SBS News to the Special Minister for State, Senator Scott Ryan.
Senator Ryan’s office claimed that government staffing decisions were not Senator Ryan’s responsibility.
The Prime Minister’s office has been contacted for comment.
Labor receives approximately 21 per cent of the government's staffing quota for opposition business. The 21 per cent figure dates back to 1996 according to former Labor Senator John Faulkner who told a 2012 Estimates hearing that it was a “mathematical calculation” based on the relative sizes of the Keating Government and Howard Opposition. The same formula remains in place.
When asked whether the formula reflected a deal between the Labor and Liberal parties, Labor Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen said it was a "long-standing formula that has existed under all governments".
Since May, the Labor headcount has grown by six to 95, and the Greens have increased by four to 17.
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