A Victorian Senator has hit out at the pay rise saying he's "gobsmacked" and that he doesn't want it.
Democratic Labor Party (DLP) Senator John Madigan said people getting hit by the carbon tax and copping big price rises for power should be outraged.
“For the life of me I don’t know why we are getting it after a $40,000 pay rise in March,” he said.
“I don’t expect it, I don’t want it.”
The former blacksmith said he never experienced money like this in the past and he couldn’t understand why the pay rises have been approved.
“Power prices are out of control - gas, water, everything.
“We have got people who can’t afford to buy a home, we have got pensioners who sit in shopping centres because they can’t afford to heat their home.”
“I’m flabbergasted.”
Senator Xenophon today said he did not know about the pay rise and would have liked the chance to appear before the Remuneration Tribunal - which sets it - to argue against it.
He said he would move to scrap the pay rise when Parliament next sat in August.
“Coming less than a week after the parliamentary paralysis in relation to asylum seekers and only a few days after the introduction of the carbon tax, this will only fuel public anger against politicians generally,” Senator Xenophon said.
“It’s just embarrassing.”
He said there was no good time for a politicians’ pay rise, but this came at “an especially bad time”.
Senator Xenophon said he wanted the Tribunal to be forced to hold public hearings.
“That would give key interest and community groups, as well as the public, a chance to be heard. It would also give pollies a chance to justify any change in pay,” he said.
Senator Xenophon said the lack of transparency was outrageously unacceptable.
“I would have liked the opportunity to go before the Tribunal and ask them to hold off,” he said.
Backbenchers will get an extra $106 a week, taking their salary to $190,550. Combined with the pay rise awarded in March, it means they will receive $49,640 - almost $1000 a week - more than they were this time last year
The tribunal said: "The increase will help to ensure parliamentary pay does not lag behind in comparison to other public sector incomes."
The pay bonanza comes as the nation's lowest-paid workers receive an extra $17.10 a week, $890 a year.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's salary increases by $14,430 to $495,430.
The PM is earning $129,000 - almost $2500 a week - more than she did a year ago.
Mr Abbott gets $10,000 extra to take his salary to $352,517.
He is more than $91,000 better off than a year ago.
Treasurer Wayne Swan's wage rises by more than $11,000 to $390,627 - and is up $100,000 over 12 months.
Former Labor powerbroker turned commentator Graham Richardson said politicians should be paid more.
"If you look around a couple of hundred companies, I wonder how many of them pay their chief less than a half a million dollars?'' Mr Richardson said on Seven Network.
"I think the answer would be none.
"The Australian Prime Minister should be getting a minimum of one million dollars and ministers should be up around half a million and you should be taking backbenchers up to 250-300.
"There are 25-year-old kids walking around in merchant banks these days earning $300,000 a year.''
Federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten also joined the debate on radio station 3AW this morning, defending the pay rise decision.
“It’s an independent process and I’m not going to start undermining independent process by starting to debate its individual decisions. I think what is important here is that people should know that the members of parliament don’t set their own pay rate," he said.
Kevin Rudd blocked a pay rise in 2008 but MPs voted this year to give away the power to veto a pay rise.
"The increase will help to ensure parliamentary pay does not lag behind in comparison to other public sector incomes," the tribunal said.
Greens leader Christine Milne criticised the decision.
"When the Government is saying it can't afford to give people struggling on Newstart an extra $50 a week to just get up to liveable levels, and the minimum wage has only gone up $17.10 a week, a $100-a-week pay rise for politicians is hardly appropriate," Senator Milne said.
"If the nation can afford this, it can certainly afford to help our poorest people."
The combined boost from the two pay rises gives a Cabinet minister $85,000 more while one of Mr Abbott's shadow ministers gets a boost of $97,000 because of a change to pay extra to Opposition frontbenchers.
Speaker Peter Slipper and Senate President John Hogg are earning $86,000 more.
The pay rise in March was part of a reform where the Gold Pass travel scheme was axed for new MPs and existing MPs would have benefits cut by more than half.
Pay increases:
Backbencher $190,550 up $5550
Prime Minister Julia Gillard $495,430 up $14,430
Deputy PM Wayne Swan $390,627 up $11,377
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott $352,517 up $10,267
Speaker Peter Slipper $333,462 up $9712
Cabinet Minister $328,698 up $9573
Shadow Minister $238,187, up $6937
Source: Remuneration Tribunal. Pay rise from July 1.
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