The chairman of the Shareholders Association has defended Telecom executives' high salaries, saying the company operates in a global market.

Former Telecom head Theresa Gattung has attacked the company for paying its executives much bigger salaries than when she was in charge.

An imminent rise in bus fares could see a drop in passengers, a public transport campaigner says.

The recession has been particularly savage on young workers with 18.4 per cent of the 15 to 24 age group now unemployed.

The Govt says its 25 cent increase to the minimum wage - about $10 a week - is all that can be afforded, but unions call it is miserly.