A Hobart alderman says councillors should earn up to $120,000 a year to attract quality candidates to local government.
Marti Zucco argues current pay levels deter skilled professionals and younger people from running for council.
He’s called for a major overhaul, saying “if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”
The council will debate the proposal tonight, with some backing a bigger pay rise than the 14 per cent already on the table.
Hobart City Councillor John Kelly agrees with raising council pay to attract more skilled professionals, noting that Brisbane councillors earn $168,000 plus a full-time assistant compared to Hobart’s much lower rates.
He has told ABC Radio that running Hobart, with its $184 million operating budget and 540 employees, requires experienced business people and that the current talent pool is insufficient.
Kelly believes higher pay would enable a more diverse range of qualified candidates to afford serving on council, though he notes that many of the 44 candidates in the last election ran half-baked campaigns or were simply stacking votes.
Sources: The Mercury; ABC Radio
Note that Hobart City Council retains the traditional title of Alderman alongside Councillor, though both refer to the same elected role. The distinction is historical rather than functional. “Alderman” reflects Hobart’s long municipal history dating back to the mid-1800s, while “Councillor” is the more contemporary term now used interchangeably in official documents.