The 41 percent pay hike for West Coast regional councillors will further erode taxpayers’ trust in the Remuneration Authority, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Pay rates for councillors should broadly reflect the pressures on ratepayers. So how can a 41 percent pay hike be justified? How many ratepayers can expect salary boosts of this size?”

“The Remuneration Authority is living in another world. The justification that councillor salaries should be compared to MP salaries is using one stupidity to justify another. Taxpayers have made their views on MP salaries clear year after year: it’s time for some austerity.”

“Remember, Chris Hipkins last year put the Remuneration Authority in charge of MPs’ salaries. It makes a joke of any suggestion that the Government wants to stop the salary hikes.”

© Scoop Media