In recognition of councillors: the (in)adequacy of remuneration (during the COVID pandemic) in New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACT

Fair and equal pay are basic principles determining appropriate remuneration. Yet expectations that locally elected representatives are motivated by community service justify token compensation. This article presents data from a survey of councillors in New South Wales about the adequacy of current remuneration against the expectations and time commitment of the role. It finds: the majority of councillors feel under-compensated for the time they devote to the role; some councillors had unmanageable workloads during the COVID-19 pandemic, and; variations in pay scales across local government areas only partially correspond with differences in volume and complexity of work. Most critically, low pay directly impacts the quality of representation by curtailing the hours councillors can commit to council work. The article argues that ‘recognition’ needs to be a core principle in determining councillor pay. Current levels both under-recognise what local elected representatives do, and the importance of local government for democracy.

公平平等的付费是合理酬劳的基本原则。地方选举的代表的动力在于社区服务，这样的期待使得票据补偿合理化。本文就该期待对新南威尔士政务官员作了调查，了解他们认为目前的酬劳是否配得上他们投入工作的时间。研究发现，大多数政务官员认为他们在角色上投入的时间，并未得到相应的回报。一些人在新冠疫情期间超负荷工作，而地方政府酬付的变化并不能完全对应工作量和复杂程度。最关键的是，低酬通过压缩政务官员行政的时间直接影响到代表性的质量。作者指出，“承认”应该成为确定政务官员酬付的核心原则。目前的酬付水平低估了地方选举官员的工作，也低估了地方政府对于民主政治的重要性。

KEYWORDS:

• Local government
• salaries/remuneration
• councillors
• NSW
• COVID-19
• politician workload
• quality of representation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All statistics taken from profile.id.com.au (accessed 8 June 2022).

2 We examine the impact of poor remuneration on diversity elsewhere (Jakimow et al., 2021).

3 The survey was undertaken with two social work intern students [removed for peer review]. I therefore use ‘we’ in places.

4 The number of sitting councillors in 2021 was lower than usual due to the number of councillors who had resigned/died and not been replaced due to the extended term, and the number of councils in administration.

5 The overrepresentation of respondents indicating that they belonged to a major regional city/strategic area is likely due to respondents selecting the incorrect council type.

6 We requested a copy of the original review to try to understand these numbers, but unfortunately the report is held in confidence. Our thanks to LGNSW for our discussions on this topic.

7 Penrith LGA had only some suburbs included in the ‘of concern’ category.

8 Pseudonym.

9 The LGNSW outlines key reforms needed here: https://lgnsw.org.au/Public/Public/Advocacy/Advocacy-Priorities/1-Enable-financial-sustainability.aspx accessed 8 Nov. 2022.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Research Council [grant number FT190100247].

Notes on contributors

Tanya Jakimow

Tanya Jakimow is an Associate Professor and Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University. Her current research examines labour and diversity within local politics and government in India, Indonesia, and more recently, Australia.