SAS 'poorly paid' and targets for foreign poachers

New Zealand's elite Special Air Service (SAS) troops are easy targets for foreign Army poachers and must be given a pay rise, New Zealand First MP Ron Mark says.

Mr Mark told Parliament the police force was also an attractive option for the country's top soldiers because their pay was so poor.

"A trooper gets a base salary of $39,000 to $43,000 a year, which is half of what a special tactics group policeman gets for sitting on his backside at home waiting for a callout."