Aussie comedian Dave Hughes has unleashed over Anthony Albanese's fleet of advisers, slamming the 'unbelievable amount' of highly paid staff as unnecessary.
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Hughes → unleash → staff
A May snapshot of personal employee positions tabled in Senate Estimates by the Department of Finance revealed that the Prime Minister has 59 personal advisers – more than double that of anyone else on his frontbench.
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Minister → table → frontbench
The figures prompted a lengthy tirade from Hughes, who is an outspoken critic of the Prime Minister.
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who → prompt → Minister
'If you're like me and you always think, 'Who the f*** is advising Albanese to do those stupid things?',' Hughes said in a video posted online.
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Hughes → think → video
'Well, he has a lot of advisers, I've done the research.
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I → have → research
'Personal advisers - they advise him and no one else, and they get paid a s***load of money to do it, and there's an unbelievable amount of them.
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they → advise → them
Hughes went on to list the salaries of those in the Prime Minister's inner circle, which ranged from $210,000 to $422,000, which included superannuation and allowances.
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which → go → superannuation
Dave Hughes has taken aim at Anthony Albanese's fleet of 59 advisers, questioning whether the 'unbelievable amount' of highly paid staff is necessary
The comedian is an outspoken critic of the Prime Minister (pictured)
'[Albanese] has got three [advisers] on $209,891 per year, 11 advisers on $226,466 per year, 17 advisers on $280,508 per year and 11 advisers on $297,893 per year,' he continued.
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he → take → year
He has four advisers on $319,777 per year, seven advisers on $334,399 per year and six on $422,158 per year.
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He → have → year
He also claimed the advisers racked up an average $56,000 each in travel expenses last year.
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advisers → claim → expenses
Hughes used the figures to argue that Albanese's advisory team had become overly large and expensive, especially since he felt that a decrease in government spending was needed.
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decrease → use → spending
'You know the saying, ''Too many cooks spoil the broth?''
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cooks → know → broth
Well Australia's broth has been f***ing ruined,' he added.
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he → ruin → ?
'We've got to reduce government spending.
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We → get → spending
'How many of these 59 advisers on this massive amount of money do you reckon are going to advise Albanese to take my advice and reduce government spending?
'
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you → reckon → spending
I'm guessing none of them.'
Department of Finance records confirm that Albanese has 59 advisers – more than double that of anyone on the Labor frontbench.
Questions
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Albanese → guess → frontbench
have been raised as to why Albanese needs dozens of advisers
Daily Mail has contacted the Prime Minister's office for comment.
Hughes cannot comprehend why Albanese requires dozens of advisers.
'Fifty-nine advisers for one person - that makes sense on no planet, especially with the results they've produced,' he told news.com.au.
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he → raise → news.com.au
'Every time you see him you think, ‘God, someone should have advised him not to do that’.
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someone → see → that
'Australia’s been absolutely conned by our public sector, who are taking in crazy amounts of money.'
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who → con → money
According to the Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2024–27, six of Albanese's top advisers are entitled to annual pay packages worth up to $365,818, including super.
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six → accord → super
With allowances included, that figure can climb to almost $425,000 a year.
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figure → include → 425,000
Even those at the bottom of the pay ladder are entitled to remuneration packages worth up to $278,260 a year, including superannuation and allowances.
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those → entitle → superannuation
Dave Hughes (pictured with wife Holly) urged the Prime Minister to cut government spending
Australian National University Associate Professor of Politics Maria Maley said that the number of Albanese's advisers was similar to those of previous Prime Ministers.
Tony Abbott had 58 during his two-year stint as leader in 2013-15, while John Howard had 50 at one stage.
However, advisers' pay gradually crept up in recent years.
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pay → picture → years
'It is certainly true that the classifications of staff have gone up under Albanese, so he has more people classified as senior advisers, than, say, Scott Morrison,' Professor Maley told news.com.au.
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Maley → go → news.com.au
'In 2022, Scott Morrison had 37 staff at senior adviser level, and Anthony Albanese's got 45.
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Albanese → have → 45
'That is certainly a trend of salary levels creeping up - a classification inflation, whatever you want to call it.'
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you → creep → it
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