Kerre Woodham: Minto way off the mark

The hand wringing continues over the issue of Telecom's $5 million man, Paul Reynolds.

This week, veteran lefty John Minto has called for a cap on executives' salaries. Just as there was a minimum wage, so too should there be a maximum wage, he said on his blog.

Commenting on Reynolds' "obscene salary", which Minto said was close to 200 times the minimum wage, he suggested the maximum income possible to earn in New Zealand should be set at 10 times the minimum wage. Meaning the highest salary in the country would be $250,000. That's hardly going to make us the destination of choice for top flight execs, is it?

Oh, I know John was just trying to generate discussion. But if he truly believes this nonsense, you'd have to wonder what message he is preaching to secondary school kids in his role as an executive of the Quality Public Education Coalition.

Does he urge kids not to aim for A+ as they only need a C to pass? That getting 98 per cent in an exam is just showing off and making all the other kids who just scraped through feel bad?

Instead of railing against higher salaries, perhaps Minto could put his efforts into trying to raise the minimum wage - and we can only do that if the country strives for excellence, not mediocrity.

* www.kerrewoodham.com