This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/newzealand by /u/Kalamordis on 2024-04-10 07:55:09.
Was just being nosey and thought it was interesting, using John Key and Jacinda Ardern as examples as they both had more than 5 years of being in office.
In both cases, they get:
- $54,500/yr NZD for the rest of their lives
- Unlimited travel for themselves + spouse/partner. (Including Accommodation & Flights)
Regardless of if they live in New Zealand (and pay tax here etc) or live in another country. In both above examples named, neither lives in New Zealand (thus, also presumably does not pay tax here.)
I thought it was somewhat crazy, though makes more sense as to why normally politicians leading a country are quite old. In saying that, they’ve been quite young here… Jacinda being currently 43, so was 36ish when she started, John Key was 46 when he started. And our current PM is 53.
For comparison, this is how much you get while in Office currently -
$471,049 Salary + $22,606 for expenses (Source: )
$52,000 Accommodation Supplement OR Free Accommodation (Optional)
And then, and this isn’t exclusive to the PM, as MPs with offices can also do this, but if you own a commercial premise, you can lease it to yourself, so in the case of the current PM he also gets -
$45,000/yr for Renting his office to Parliament, for him to use as a office. (Source: )
Note: That isn’t uncommon, most prime ministers from my understanding do this.
Curious on peoples opinion of it, especially when they no longer live in the country thus don’t pay tax payers money - Is it too much? Is it fair? Is some of it fair while other parts aren’t?
To be clear, I’m just singling our current PM, I’m just wanting a discussion surrounding the general amount they get once they leave - and in my opinion as a talking point - Should they still get that money/those benefits when they no longer live in New Zealand?
What are your thoughts?