April 15, 2020

New Zealand PM takes a salary cut

By Newsroom

New Zealand Prime Minister  Jacinda Ardern will take a 20 percent pay cut, along with the rest of her cabinet, for the next six months. The Prime Minister said that all as the top bureaucrats in the country’s government departments will be doing the same. The surprise announcement came as a further 20 New Zealanders were diagnosed with COVID-19 overnight.

“I absolutely accept this is not going to change the government books but for us, it’s about leadership,” she said, adding  “it’s an acknowledgement of the hit many New Zealanders are taking right now.”

The leader of the opposition, Simon Bridges, responded by announcing he, too, would take a 20 per cent pay cut. Another MP,  David Seymour, who is the leader of the ACT New Zealand party who represents one of the wealthiest electorates in the country has offered to table legislation mandating a pay cut for the entire parliament.

 In total, 1,386 people have contracted the COVID-19 virus in New Zealand.

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