Pauline Hanson mentioned the $4.8 million per year overpaid public servant.
In Pauline Hanson maiden Speech in September 2016, she made the following statement:
“If they cannot rein in the budget with overpaid public servants – one being the head of Australia Post, who is on $4.8 million per year …”
In a website stating the many facts that Pauline Hanson got wrong, this was quoted as one of the “wrong” facts.
The website stated:
Any guesses why Senator Hanson would single out Ahmed Fahour? Could it possibly be because he is Australia’s highest profile Muslim business leader?
And the figure is wrong. Australia Post won’t confirm his salary (their annual report is here) and, there’s no doubt he’s paid way more than the the humble Aussie worker, but the real figure is likely closer to $2.1 million.
How did Senator Hanson get it so wrong? Just type into Google the words “ahmed fahour salary”.
I googled “ahmed fahour salary” as they suggested, and came up with:
ABC News: Ahmed Fahour’s $4.8 million salary.
Critics of Australia Post’s decision to sack 900 staff questioning CEO Ahmed Fahour’s $4.8 million salary.
www.abc.net.au
The Australian: Ahmed Fahour’s $4.6 million salary.
AUSTRALIA Post boss Ahmed Fahour has managed to retain his pay at $4.6 million, down slightly from a year ago, despite a 35 per cent fall in the operation’s earnings to $116.2 million.
Earlier in the year it was disclosed Mr Fahour did a deal with Australia Post to convert a $2 million superannuation payment to a $2.8 million contribution to a charitable organisation, the Islamic Museum of Australia, which is run by his brother and sister-in-law and was built in honour of his parents.
www.theaustralian.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald: Ahmed Fahour’s $4.6 million salary.
Fahour is the federal government’s best-paid employee. In the year to June 2013, his remuneration was almost $4.8 million, compared to the prime minister’s $507,000. In 2014, he pocketed $4.6 million, but it could have been much more: he passed up the opportunity to take home an incentive payment, instead asking the Australia Post board to donate $2.85 million on his behalf to the Islamic Museum of Australia, an institution founded by his brother.
www.smh.com.au
It seems that the head of Australia Post does actually get about $4.6 to $4.8 million per year. And if not, his brother and sister-in-law get the rest for their museum. And the Tax Office loses out on the tax on that portion.
The attack on this comment also suggested that Pauline Hanson selected Ahmed Fahour as the federal government’s best-paid employee, because he is Muslim, and not because he is actually what she says, the federal government’s best-paid employee. (according to mainstream news reports)
To critisise statements as being wrong, and then finding they were in fact correct, makes one wonder about all the other attacks on her “facts”.
They say she should get her facts right, yet they also should do the same. Her facts appear to be correct, and the attackers appear to be wrong, unless the mainstream news articles are also wrong..