Christchurch City councillors’ pay jumps to almost $127,000

Thursday, 11 December 2025

Christchurch City councillors will bank a 3.8% pay increase this year, lifting their salary to almost $127,000.

That’s about $61 an hour, based on a 40-hour working week.

The Remuneration Authority, an independent body established by Parliament, determines how much elected members get paid.

It decides on an overall pool of money that the council should spend on councillor salaries.

For Christchurch City that is just over $2m. It is then up to councillors and mayor Phil Mauger to decide how that is divided up.

They could choose to give additional money to those councillors who have taken on additional responsibilities like chairing a committee.

But, the council on Wednesday decided to pay all councillors the same amount - $126,636. Councillors were previously paid $122,000.

However, deputy mayor Victoria Henstock will receive 15% more than councillors, $145,631, in recognition of the role’s additional responsibilities. The deputy mayor was previously paid $140,300.

The same ratio has been allocated to the deputy mayor for the past four council terms.

The authority deems the councillor position to be a full-time role.

Mayor Phil Mauger’s salary is not part of this decision. It remains at $220,000.

The Remuneration Authority still has to approve the council’s decision to split the pool. It will make its final determination in early March and the increase will be backdated to October when councillors were elected.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillors are expected to get a 16.4% pay rise this year. Their base pay will rise from $74,107 to $86,284 for what is deemed a part-time job.

In Selwyn, most councillors will see a 30% pay increase to nearly $74,000 a year.