Is it time for judges to rule on their own pensions?
I’m happy for federal court judges to receive suitable renumeration for their services.
They’ve studied hard and long, rule on important precedents and generally keep legislation ticking over.
But it’s time for their taxpayer-funded retirement scheme to end.
Judges who worked for 10 years or longer receive 60 per cent of their former income as a pension when they retire, which according to the Sydney Morning Herald can be up to nearly $365,000 a year.
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg asked the Parliamentary Budget Office to cost out closing the scheme for any new judges and switching them over to superannuation and found that it would save $4.7 million over the next four years and in a decade’s time the budget would be better off by about $415 million.
The Australian government at least read the room and had the good sense to discontinue its retirement scheme that gave federal politicians some of the most generous pension entitlements in the world.
Is it time for the federal court judges to do the same?
All people should be getting the big bucks while they're working and go onto a simple pension or superannuation, as it is these days when they cease their employment. This Great Scam for Politician's especially + Judge's etc. should have been snuffed out years ago. After retirement, these people, Politician's in particular, retain taxpayer funded offices, access to staff and various other benefits such as travel, car's with drivers etc., and not just for them, family included, totally funded by the poor old taxpayer once again, an Absolute Disgrace. As if they haven't rorted enough taxpayer money through their working life with fraudulent travel expenses etc., they're still biting at the cherry long after their gone. Tough work if you can get it. And who's going to change this, a Politician or a Judge, I wouldn't think so. Jacka.