GREENS leader Bob Brown says the Federal Government is trying to sneak through changes to how MPs' pay is set on Budget day, in order to avoid Senate scrutiny.

Senator Brown told the Herald Sun he wanted a Senate inquiry to investigate the move, warning the "process stinks" and was about parliamentarians trying to avoid the embarrassment of justifying their own pay.

The Government wants to give total power for setting the base pay of federal MPs, currently $136,640, to the Remuneration Tribunal, saying this would be independent.

This would remove the power of the Prime Minister and the Parliament to change it; but Senator Brown said it would also take away Parliament's power to scrutinise it.

"It's to stop the Parliament having to face the embarrassment of debating salaries," he said.

He said Parliament debated income decisions for other Australians and should debate income decisions for politicians.

"The Remuneration Tribunal is secretive. It is potentially open to undue influence without any counter-balancing public debate," he said.

"It is absolutely essential its decisions should be open to some form of independent scrutiny. Removing the parliamentary check on it, and the ability for public debate, is bad for transparency and democracy."

He said the Bill to remove this power should not be put forward on Budget day.

Originally published as Pollies' pay Bill stinks, says Brown