Thursday 4 August 2022 03:04 AM Marise Payne, Stuart Ayres: Liberal MPs take eyewatering pay cuts trends now
Former NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres' swift fall from grace has been compounded by a $300,000 income drop for him and his partner.
Mr Ayres resigned on Wednesday in the wake of the John Barilaro 'dream job' saga.
A draft review into the Barilaro job scandal - where a senior public servant was promised a $500k job in New York, which was then given to Mr Barilaro - found Mr Ayres may have breached the ministerial code of conduct over the matter.
Mr Ayres and Liberal senator Marise Payne were for many years known as the leading NSW political power couple, with a combined salary of almost $700,000 to match.
Political power couple Stuart Ayres (left) and his partner Marise Payne are pictured in 2016
But when the Liberal-National Coalition lost power in May, Ms Payne lost her job as Foreign Minister and her income fell overnight from $364,410 to $217,060.
If that sharp fall caused the tightening of belts in the Payne-Ayres household, it was nothing compared to this week, when Mr Ayres moved from $333,072 to $172,576.
The household's income has now fallen from $697,482 to $389,636 in just three months.
That overall yearly loss of $307,846 per year works out to a combined drop of $5,920 per week for Ms Payne, 58, and Mr Ayres, 41, who have been together since 2007.
But they are still on a combined $7,500 a week before tax.
By comparison, the average Australian disposable household income for the last financial year was $1,124 per week.
The Payne-Ayres household's disposable income could take another serious hit seven months from now, though.
While Ms Payne is showing no sign of wanting to leave parliament - despite Peter Dutton excluding her from his shadow cabinet - Mr Ayres faces a stiff electoral test in the NSW state election in March.
Marise Payne (left) who was then the Australian Foreign Minister, is pictured with her
