Chester Borrows: Pay rise is obscene

'OUT OF WHACK': New Zealand Superannuation Fund chief executive Adrian Orr's pay is over the $1 million mark.

The cancer researcher; the aged care worker; the street sweeper; the eye surgeon; the special needs teacher; the missionary working in an orphanage in some far-flung country; the emergency nurse in war-torn Middle East ...

What do any of these people get paid? They see their job as a vocation, but does that mean their remuneration doesn't have to stack up?

I just cannot get right in my mind the fact that the New Zealand Superannuation Fund boss Adrian Orr is on an annual salary of over $1 million. That's an incredible average of nearly $500 per hour - though he may well work more than 40 hours per week as a lot of us do.

My uneasiness comes when I think about those cleaners or care workers who are on $15.75 an hour.

The latest increase for the Super Fund's top man was ended up at 23.4 per cent, though at one stage it was suggested Mr Orr should get a 35.6 per cent rise.

In the light of the 3.2 per cent increase in the basic minimum wage announced late last year, it's the magnitude of the increase here for a civil servant that worries me.

Having never met the Super Fund boss, I certainly would not begin to take anything away from the very advanced money management skills of someone entrusted to run this country's biggest investor.

Nobody can deny that the returns are great and this bodes really well for us baby-boomers who are quite naturally looking a fair way ahead to some future years of financial security, courtesy of "our" Superannuation Fund.

The stewardship of the people's pension savings is of supreme importance in New Zealand - a role carrying prestige and status. No doubt Mr Orr takes pride in this important position - but when he goes I can safely predict that an equally proud and qualified person will take over the role.

And in all of the publicity around his pay rise, there was never a suggestion that the incumbent was thinking of moving on if the increase didn't eventuate.

So why isn't taking care of people's pensions also a vocation? And what do we mean by a "public servant"?

Among the reasons given by the Super Fund Board for this sizeable increase in pay was alignment with the remuneration of international peers. But, hang on, this is New Zealand and we are also talking about the public sector.

I have a problem with the state paying massive salaries, especially when they are out of whack with that of the prime minister or our chief justice.

But this is really about the huge difference in remuneration among New Zealanders.

While I do not have a problem with the chief executive of our Super Fund receiving a reasonable three-figure salary in line with the skills, experience and qualifications brought to the role, becoming the highest paid person on the public payroll is not appropriate here.

If you think about it, we need every care worker, teacher aide, driver, cleaner or caretaker just as much as the Super Fund chief executive.

Does it take as much cleverness to manage an underfunded household budget as a $30 billion investment fund? Once you've learned the basics of economics and investment, isn't it pretty much like riding a bike?

So the chasm between what these worthy citizens receive each hour (often working part-time in unsociable hours) and almost $500 for 60 minutes is actually obscene.