Chart of the day: The one big rise that makes politicians' pay nearly three times the average

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Your Federal MP's pay packet has flatlined in real terms, but a big pay rise a few years ago means they are better placed to absorb low wages growth than the average Australian worker.

Spare a thought for 1988's crop of federal backbenchers, who were taking home just 1.9 times the average male earnings of the time.

The Remuneration Tribunal awarded MPs two pay increases in 2012 (30.3 per cent in March and 3 per cent in July), giving them a $54,000 raise in one year (adjusted for inflation).

That's been enough to maintain a gap of at least 2.7 times the average male wage, according to Parliamentary Library analysis, even with a two-year pay freeze.

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Topics: federal-government, federal-parliament, australia