Bill Shorten’s speech writer paid over $300,000 a year

A senate estimates revealed Services Australia paid the personal speech writer of Bill Shorten $620,000 over two years.

Transcript

00:00 To clarify, the annual contract for the speechwriter where there is capability within the department is $300,000 per year.

00:07 It's in that order Senator. So senators who work in this building get paid about

00:13 $230,000 a year.

00:16 Shadow Ministers get paid less than that.

00:23 MPs in the government and senators in the government on the crossbench and in the opposition get paid less

00:29 than the speechwriter that Minister Shorten, it appears, has

00:35 personally requested

00:38 to write speeches for him when there is a

00:41 180 FTE capability that is already being paid for within the department.