Speaking of hypocrisy, the government's latest move in the ongoing pay increases drama just seems to have made things worse, not better.

It is extraordinary that something that seemingly started out quite well and with good intentions is ending so badly.

By forming an independent commission to look at the question of salaries, Premier Alex Scott tried to end then unsavoury practice of Parliamentarians from awarding themselves pay rises.

But through a combination of decisions, including allowing Ministers to decide whether they should be full time or not, failing to postpone the increases until the next Parliament, blocking the Senate from voting on the increases in a constitutionally correct but precedent-breaking decision and then bringing further changes back to the House of Assembly late on Friday night, the Government has managed to get rid of almost all the goodwill it had on this question.

As this newspaper said earlier this week, the Government should give up the whole exercise and start again.