My Salary
Several weeks ago a nasty article appeared in a Sunday paper with quotations from a senior staff worker in the Synod office indicating that the Council of Synod had debated my position as Superintendent of Wesley Mission and a member of Parliament. I did not reply then because the spiritual message of Easter was of prime importance.
Now I can reply. Some people do not believe what they read in the papers from Synod sources, like an Elder from Macquarie St Uniting Church who said, “Nobody would believe that trash!” But some people still believe it. The fact is, it is nobody else’s business what my salary is and where I earn it, but as a pack of lies have been published, I do have a right to set the record straight.
The problem was two fold: one, I receive two salaries and that is unethical, and two, as Parliamentarian I can speak beyond the discipline of the church and I would not be subject to the church’s methods of keeping its ministers in line.
The second point of true, and if the church tried to silence me on matters when I speak under Parliamentary privilege, the church could be held to be in contempt of Parliament. You may be horrified how many ministers are silenced by the decisions made by committees of the church without proper evidence and without the presence of the person concerned. I was not present when my salaries were discussed. What was said was untrue and I had no opportunity to correct it. Hence I will tell you.
I have not been paid by the Parish of Wesley Mission for any of the work that I do when preaching, speaking on radio and television, providing pastoral care or home and hospital visitation. I voluntarily offered this to our congregations.
I do get the equivalent of a Minister’s salary for my administrative work but this I offered to raise for Wesley Mission every year from outside of the church. For the last 15 years I have raised my own salary and that of running the Superintendent’s Office, from sources outside of the church, such as the $25,000 I raised from auctioning donated goods last Saturday.
The money I do receive from the Mission, I have given back to the Mission every month since last September when I was first elected into Parliament. I use it to support another person, and a Christian magazine to help young couples improve their marriages, and to make donations of at least $1000 each to a dozen or more benevolent works in Wesley Mission. The offerings and donations Beverley and I have made far exceed that of any minister’s total salary.
So much for the integrity and honesty of people who speak to the press! As a former Labor Premier said to me: “When I read that article I said to my wife, ‘That Synod bloke only wants Gordon’s job!’”
Furthermore, no-one in the press article mentioned the fact that more than a year ago I indicated the date of my retirement from Wesley Mission, and my willingness to serve while my successor comes into place. The place in Parliament is actually for the next eight years, but I will continue at Wesley Mission beyond this twenty fifth year to enable a smooth transition. That puts the record straight – which is what people who talk to the press cannot do.
This is GORDON MOYES.
