Anthony Albanese signed off on a letter providing 15 advisers to the Greens three days before the minor party voted against an inquiry into his power to allocate staff to federal politicians.
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party → sign → politicians
The prime minister’s control over the number of staff each MP can employ has come under increased scrutiny, as One Nation leader Pauline Hanson joins independent senators to ramp up their demands for higher staffing levels.
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Hanson → employ → levels
Under federal legislation each MP is entitled to five electorate officers, but the provision of extra highly paid “personal staff” remains entirely under the prime minister’s discretion.
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provision → entitle → discretion
Albanese has been criticised for the way he grants extra hires following revelations in this masthead that he allowed former independent senator Tammy Tyrrell to retain additional staff when she joined Labor, and offered former opposition leader Sussan Ley additional staff for support of the government’s friendless attempt to change freedom of information laws.
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she → criticise → laws
Immediately after Labor won government in 2022, Albanese cut staffing levels to the expanded crossbench, saying the bloc had swelled to a historic size, and then backtracked.
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bloc → win → size
Albanese also cut the Coalition’s staffing following the 2025 election, citing their significant loss of seats.
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Albanese → cut → seats
Hanson and independent senator Fatima Payman – traditionally political enemies – stood side by side last month to demand a change to the system.
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Hanson → stand → system
Joined by independent MP Dai Le, the trio said they were unable to effectively carry out their duties with understaffed offices.
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they → join → offices
Payman, who represents Australia’s largest state, said at the time that staffing decisions should not be left to “the whims of a petty man”.
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decisions → represent → man
Hanson has twice written to Albanese requesting her staffing allocation be reviewed after One Nation achieved minor party status following Barnaby Joyce’s defection from the Nationals.
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Nation → write → Nationals
In her most recent letter sent in August – seen by this masthead – Hanson requested proportional staffing to the Greens, who also have minor party status.
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who → send → status
Proportional staffing would more than double One Nation’s staff, from four to nine, and raise salaries so the party could attract more experienced employees.
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party → double → employees
The letter has not yet had a response.
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letter → have → response
“One Nation has six MPs and just five personal staff.
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Nation → have → MPs
Yet, Labor, the Liberals and the Greens joined forces to block an inquiry into fair staffing for independents and minor parties,” Hanson told this masthead.
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Hanson → join → masthead
“Our request to the prime minister includes advance staff to plan visits, coordinate security and liaise with the AFP so our MPs and staff can work safely in the community.
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MPs → include → community
Several crossbench MPs and their staff have told this masthead, under condition of anonymity to protect their safety, that understaffing directly impacts their ability to manage threats from the public.
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understaffing → tell → public
On October 15, three days after the Greens’ renewed staffing allocation came into effect, Hanson put forward a motion in the Senate to have a “safe staffing guarantee” bill put before a Senate inquiry for reporting by the end of the year.
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bill → renew → year
The bill would establish mandatory minimum staffing levels for independent, minor party and opposition MPs, outside the remit of the prime minister’s discretion.
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bill → establish → discretion
Labor, Greens and Coalition senators voted the motion down.
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Labor → vote → motion
The Greens have been contacted for comment.
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Greens → contact → comment
Independent senator David Pocock, who voted for the motion, said: “Staffing allocation shouldn’t be able to be used as a bargaining chip or to reward or punish parliamentarians.
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allocation → vote → parliamentarians
The current process needs reform”.
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process → need → reform
Many independent MPs have relied on private fundraising to cover additional staffing costs in their offices.
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MPs → rely → offices
Pocock currently fundraises to pay the equivalent of 2.1 full-time staff responsible for casework and correspondence with constituents.
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Pocock → fundraise → constituents
MPs must petition the prime minister for additional staffing.
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MPs → petition → staffing
Payman has repeatedly pleaded for additional staff since she left Labor last term over the party’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war, but her requests have never received a formal response.
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requests → plead → response
Dr Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the current system is “clearly open to abuse” and needed immediate reform.
“
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system → say → reform
The leader of the government may perceive it to be useful to hobble the ability of other members of parliament to hold the government to account.
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it → perceive → account
It is for this reason that the UK, Canada and New Zealand use robust systems to determine allocations,” Williams said.
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Williams → use → allocations
The Remuneration Tribunal, which sets MP salaries, has been proposed as a better decision maker on staffing.
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which → set → staffing
Beyond the capacity to select the number of staff each MP has, the prime minister also has the discretion to select which salary bands staff receive.
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staff → select → bands
In the renewed Greens staffing agreement, Albanese provided for two senior advisers to be paid up-to $190,231 and $205,808 respectively.
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advisers → renew → 190,231
The five electorate officers each MP is entitled to currently earn between $77,071 and $102,681.
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MP → entitle → 77,071
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Subscribers → sign → newsletter
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