Tabuya moves motion that the Emoluments Committee reviews salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament

Leader of the Government in Parliament, Lynda Tabuya has moved a motion that the Emoluments Committee be established to review salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament as provided for under the Parliamentary Remunerations Act 2014.

The committee must report back to parliament in the September parliamentary sitting.

The committee as agreed to both sides of parliament includes Lynda Tabuya, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, Aseri Radrodro, Alvick Maharaj and Mosese Bulitavu.

Tabuya says this motion has been brought about in agreement with the opposition as the need to review the salaries and allowances of the Members of Parliament.

She says there are discussions with the opposition regarding the entitlements of Members of Parliament including pensions and other allowances such as housing being raised not just for the members of the government but also the opposition, and former leaders of government and opposition.

Tabuya says MPs can make submissions to the committee and independent experts will also be engaged in the review.

Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Biman Prasad says the history of the current salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament and Ministers was done when the interim government’s decree which set the allowances and salaries prior to the 2014 elections became an Act of parliament.

Professor Prasad says by determination, there is a salary reduction of 20 percent.

He says for example, the opposition members are getting $40,000 instead of $50,000 and the Prime Minister and Ministers have their salaries reduced by 20 percent.

Professor Prasad says the principle is that the MPs should not determine their own salaries, so they hope that the committee will appoint an independent group of experts to come up with all the considerations.

He says they have increased the budgets of political parties because they understood how difficult it was when they were in opposition as a lot of people ask opposition MPs for assistance.

The Deputy Prime Minister says they have budgeted for full salaries, and with the concurrence of the Prime Minister and the cabinet, they will be restoring the salaries back to where it was while the independent emoluments committee looks at the entire salaries and benefits, allowances and pensions.

Professor Prasad says the date of the restoration of the salaries will be determined by cabinet.

FijiFirst MP, Faiyaz Koya says each party is as far as possible entitled to be represented in each standing committee in a way that it fairly reflects that party’s representation in parliament.

Koya says the representation in those committees is by party, not by a coalition.