The Remuneration Authority is accused of being "out of touch" by hiking MPs' pay.
A round of pay rises announced on Tuesday would see MPs get increases of nearly 3 percent over the parliamentary term. The Prime Minister will receive an additional $13,151 from July 1, and a backbencher almost $5000.
"I think it's an absolute necessary job for the country, no doubt about that - but you don't go in to become a member of Parliament if you want to earn big money so let's be clear about that," said Whānau Ora chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, who ran for Te Pāti Māori in the last election. "If you were to accept a pay rise now, as a member of Parliament knowing that you're going to send 5000 people down the road from the public service... it's not a good look," she told AM, referring to the Government department job cuts taking place under the Coalition.
Instead, Raukawa-Tait suggested suspending the pay rises and "pick it up later".
"But, at this point in time? Absolutely... not." she said.
However, former Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett, appearing on AM's panel alongside Raukawa-Tait, had a different view.
"It's a thankless task, I think they're there 24 hours a day and, if they screw up, the whole of the world knows," he said.
"What they're being offered is probably less in percentage than the police or the nurses got so, to my mind, I think we should leave them alone [and] let them do their job - but they're doing a thankless task."
He didn't agree with the idea of postponing the hike.
"That's like deferring rate increases... when you do the catch-up, then people are going to object anyway so, to me, you can't win in this environment.
"To my mind, at some point, you're going to have to make an adjustment. They've made it now; I think the Remuneration Authority has picked a level that should not be [an] objection to anyone."
According to the Remuneration Authority, New Zealand MPs' pay rates sat well behind most Westminster-style democracies including Ireland, which had a similar population to Aotearoa.
The cost-of-living crisis was considered when deciding the new pay rates but did not meet the threshold for "times of economic hardship", authority chair Geoff Summers said.
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