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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 884 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 10 November 2020 by Mr D.C. Nalder

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

SYNERGY — CEO — REMUNERATION PACKAGE

884. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Minister for Public Sector Management:

I have a supplementary question. Can the minister explain how the CEO —

Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.

The SPEAKER: Minister for Water, I call you to order for the first time.

Mr D.C. NALDER: Can the minister explain how the CEO of Synergy received a substantial pay rise when he put in place a pay freeze for senior public servants?

Mr M. McGOWAN replied:

The Minister for Energy advises me that the CEO received a $1 000 pay increase. The member can wave around old newspaper clippings —

Mr D.C. Nalder: It's your quote.

Mr M. McGOWAN: I am just saying that the member comes in here and asks me questions —

Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.

The SPEAKER: Member for Bateman, I call you to order for the second time.

Mr M. McGOWAN: The member comes in here and asks me questions about issues that are weeks if not months old, and he does it regularly. Lucky I have a good memory!

The minister has advised me that there was an issue around the timing of the CEO's annual leave. I think it was explained at the time that that was the issue. I am also advised that he had a $1 000 pay increase for that year. That is the situation. The minister also reminds me that when the member was in government, the chairperson of Synergy got $610 000. Remember that little affair—it was the chair, not the CEO. An amount of $610 000 for a chair is the sort of thing we would talk about for major multinationals, let alone Synergy and let alone in Western Australia.

I think the answer to this is very clear. It was an annual leave issue and he received a $1 000 pay increase. But the fact that the member scrapes around the bottom of the pot, searching for something to raise, shows the state that the Liberal Party is in today.

The SPEAKER: That is the end of question time.