Timor pay gap has Kiwis seething

By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK and NZPA

The lure of better pay had Private Leonard Manning contemplating a job with the Australian Army 11 days before his death in East Timor.

In his last letter home, the 24-year-old wrote that his $27,000 salary would increase to $41,000 if he joined the Australians.

"They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but in this case it is well above the top wire of the fence," he said.

He was not far off.

Pay disparities between New Zealand and Australian troops serving in East Timor are immense. The average New Zealand private, for example, gets just under $24,000 a year compared to the $42,000 paid to an Australian foot soldier.

While Australian foot soldiers also receive a tax-free bonus of $160 for each day spent in East Timor, NZ privates get a daily allowance of $78.85 (after tax).

Last week, a Sydney newspaper reported that several unnamed New Zealand soldiers were unhappy with their pay rates in the wake of Private Manning's murder by East Timorese militia. The soldiers reportedly felt that their pay reflected a lower security rating.

However, the Chief of General Staff, Major-General Maurice Dodson, said the allowances paid to New Zealand troops in East Timor were generous.

He had just returned from East Timor and no one had complained.

"I don't believe they were ever an issue. I think this sort of comment by whoever is making it demeans the effort of the New Zealanders who are working in East Timor."

But former New Zealand soldier Len Johnson, now aged 68 and president of the Glen Eden branch of the Returned Services Association, has experienced first-hand the negative effects of pay disparities between soldiers.

During his time in Korea, large pay differences between New Zealand, British and American soldiers sparked animosity.

"The American soldiers would come in with all their flashy gear and throw money around - it got everyone quite upset. No one should suffer that indignity.

"You're all there fighting for the same cause, and there shouldn't be any differences between one man and another."

The Government last year boosted allowances for troops in East Timor from $37.60 (after tax) to $78.85, based on the nature of the risk, the environment and what the politicians felt was fair to the staff involved and the taxpayer.

The Government also said welfare payments soldiers' families received because of their low incomes would not be affected.

A spokesman for Defence Minister Mark Burton said a review of the Defence Force's pay conditions and allowances was already under way as part of the Defence Policy Framework announced last month.

However, there would be no immediate review of allowances for East Timor troops or "risk factors" following Private Manning's death.

"The risk in Timor is the same it always was. The risk hasn't got any greater; it's at the level it was thought to be. There'll be no immediate reaction that could be linked to Private Manning's death."

The spokesman said the review had been prompted by staff recruitment and preservation issues.

"It's a problem for the New Zealand Defence Force to retain highly skilled and valuable personnel in competition with the private sector, which in many cases is able to offer much higher salaries."

The review would be completed by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Returned Services Association chief executive, Pat Herbert, said that one of the organisation's subcommittees was considering pay and allowance issues at present.

While he declined to comment on the pay disparities between New Zealand and Australian troops, he said recruits did not join the Army specifically for the pay.

"I don't believe it's the primary purpose for young men and women joining the Defence Force.

"For a start, there's overseas travel, and the structured way of life really suits some people."