“I don’t think[that’s] reasonable or fair,” Chalmers told ABCInsiders on Sunday morning.
Albanese informed the crossbench on Fridaythat he had cut their staffing allocation to a quarter of what it was in the previous parliament,leaving them with only one adviser each to work through reams of legislation.
The crossbench MPs will all retain four lower-paid and less specialised electorate advisers,who deal with constituency matters,rather than legislation,media and stakeholders,meaning they will still have one more staff member than a government or opposition backbencher.
The previous government gave permission for crossbench MPs and senators to have two advisers and two assistant advisers,plus electorate office staff.
Two key Senate crossbenchers,David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie,are threatening to vote against Labor government legislation in response to the cuts.
Education Minister Jason Clare said independent and minor party MPs should get on with the job and make use of the Parliamentary Library,which Albanese was granting extra resources.
“People come to this job not for the pay,but for the opportunity that it provides to really make a difference,” Clare told Sky News.