WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt says it's "only fair" that MP's and senior public servants have their wages frozen for the next four years to reign in Western Australian's whopping state debt.
But it won't only be politicians and public service bosses who will have their salaries frozen, the wages of judges, magistrates, the WA Governor and all local council chief executives will stay the same until 2021.
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Who will be affected by public sector wage freeze
WA Premier Mark McGowan plans to freeze the salaries of the highest paid people in the public sector.
The move is expected to save the McGowan government more than $20 million.
The Premier also announced public servants would receive a capped pay increase of $1000 which will save the government $518 million over four years.
It means public sector employees will pocket an extra $19.20 per week.
"It's part of the process both the Premier and I have been talking about now for a while where we can control the finances and that is primarily around expenses of course," Mr Wyatt told Radio 6PR on Friday morning.
"Over the term of this government it will assist in the effect of borrowing less and delivering on our election priorities... our keen focus is to look at our finances which we inherited at the time of the pre-election financial statements and ensure we don't do any harm to that and improve it over the course of the coming years."
The McGowan government will have to introduce legislation into Parliament to take power away from the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal who are responsible for pay rises.
The Treasurer denied freezing MP's wages was to soften the blow of the upcoming public sector reform, which could see major job losses.
"Ultimately, I have said we have to look at every part of the community - it has to be looked at to assist in the budget repair and certainly those highest paid in the public sector have to do their bit as well," he said.
"I made the point time and again in respect of wage growth in WA... you see declines in the private sector, which could be effectively described as a pay freeze.
"Making people understand that nobody is going to be immune to the sort of saving measures we are looking at it makes it very clear, with the legislation that will be introduced to do that with those public servants who have their remuneration set by the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal.
"I think it's a fair decision and a reasonable one that was broadly accepted."
Mr McGowan said the new policies would help repair the "catastrophic financial situation we have been dealt by the former Liberal/National government".
"It's not something we enjoy doing - putting in place this new wages policy - we are a Labor government, we like to pay people well, we want to make sure people are properly rewarded," he told reporters.
"However, we think this is the fairest, most reasonable and most decent way of dealing with a difficult situation the state faces."
Late last month the McGowan government announced it was going to radically overhaul the public sector - slashing the number of state departments from 41 down to 24.
Last week the government announced a review of the WA public sector which would reduce the number of government boards and committees in an effort to save more $750 million.
The review, which will cost $500,000 and take five months to complete, will be headed by former New Zealand state services commissioner Iain Rennie along with former Indigenous Land Corporation chief executive Michael Dillon and former UWA senior deputy vice chancellor Professor Margaret Seares AO.