Independent Senator David Pocock is seeking to remove the discretion of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to decide the number of extra staff crossbenchers receive.
His case is being reinforced by the delay in the government informing Senator Fatima Payman – who defected from the Labor party in July – of her personal staff allocation.
Each parliamentarian receives five electorate staff (increased from four in 2023). But it is up to the PM how many personal staff they get above that. This has led at times to arguments, long delays and haggling between crossbenchers and the prime minister.
