The end of the perk?

Travel perks for New Zealand MPs are on the line this week. The issue has sparked a debate (on talk radio at least) about whether or not MPs should still have access to the perk or whether it should be axed in lieu of a pay rise. Mike McRoberts, filling in on Radio Live this morning, suggested that if these perks weren’t available the public would miss out because it might deter the “best and brightest” from making the sacrifice to serve in the public arena.

It got me thinking about teachers, medical professionals, and other workers who provide vital public service without perks like reimbursable travel. In July, Campbell Live ran a story about a NZ teacher who began a Facebook campaign to get Air New Zealand to provide discounted airfares to teachers who don’t have much flexibility in picking when to take their holidays. The only options available are for them to travel at peak times of the year (unless they want to take unpaid time during the term). Granted, teachers get more ‘holidays’ than most, but most of the teachers I know use much of this time to prepare for the coming term. Would discounted travel attract a better quality teacher to the classroom? Maybe. Maybe paying teachers and nurses $130,000 p.a. would attract more quality candidates to Teacher’s College as well. Before this would happen though, there would need to be a shift in our thinking about the strategic value of teachers and nurses to the future of the country. We would have to contemplate the significant contribution they make to our economic potential as they shape the business leaders, politicians, bus drivers and check out operators of the future.

Regardless of the perks, we still have Parliamentarians, Teachers, and Medical professions who do the job for the sake of giving something back. So I wonder whether the perks really do make a difference as to who fronts up for these demanding jobs, or whether those who choose to serve in these positions really do it for altruistic purposes that have nothing to do with the perks of the job at all. We could find out by axing Parliaments travel perks and paying our teachers and medical professionals a MPs salary. Or we could just keep things as they are so we don’t upset the status quo.