Average weekly pay during each premier or chief minister's tenure
8 premiers and chief ministers, ranked by how average weekly pay changed from their first day in office, next to Australia over the same months. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
| # | Premier or chief minister | State | In office | Total | vs AU | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALP Jon Stanhope | Australian Capital Territory | 12 Nov 2001 – 16 May 2011 | +25.4% 2001 → 2011 | +10.1 pts AU +15.4% | +2.3%/yr | |
| 2 | ALP Paul Henderson | Northern Territory | 26 Nov 2007 – 29 Aug 2012 | +19.4% 2007 → 2012 | +12.2 pts AU +7.1% | +3.6%/yr | |
| 3 | LIB Colin Barnett | Western Australia | 23 Sep 2008 – 17 Mar 2017 | +17.5% 2008 → 2016 | +6.9 pts AU +10.6% | +2.0%/yr | |
| 4 | ALP Bob Carr | New South Wales | 4 Apr 1995 – 3 Aug 2005 from 1995 | +13.9% 1995 → 2005 | +2.0 pts AU +11.9% | +1.3%/yr | |
| 5 | NAT Rob Borbidge | Queensland | 19 Feb 1996 – 20 Jun 1998 | +12.1% 1995 → 1998 | +7.9 pts AU +4.3% | +3.9%/yr | |
| 6 | LIB Kate Carnell | Australian Capital Territory | 2 Mar 1995 – 18 Oct 2000 from 1995 | +11.8% 1995 → 2000 | +5.4 pts AU +6.4% | +2.2%/yr | |
| 7 | ALP Clare Martin | Northern Territory | 18 Aug 2001 – 26 Nov 2007 | +10.0% 2001 → 2007 | −0.4 pts AU +10.4% | +1.6%/yr | |
| 8 | ALP Alan Carpenter | Western Australia | 25 Jan 2006 – 23 Sep 2008 | +10.0% 2005 → 2008 | +8.3 pts AU +1.7% | +3.2%/yr | |
| 9 | ALP Jay Weatherill | South Australia | 21 Oct 2011 – 19 Mar 2018 | +9.3% 2011 → 2017 | +5.1 pts AU +4.1% | +1.5%/yr | |
| 10 | ALP Lara Giddings | Tasmania | 24 Jan 2011 – 31 Mar 2014 | +8.8% 2010 → 2013 | +3.4 pts AU +5.4% | +2.8%/yr |
Showing 10 of 41 tenures.
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last count complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that count had no data, or because the period cut it); Australia is measured over the same months. Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in %; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. A$ per week, in today's money, all employees · ABS, Average Weekly Earnings (AWE), all employees' total earnings, May survey, original, adjusted for inflation with the capital city's CPI · state or territory data · as of Sep 2026.