Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood lowest paid Lord Mayor in Australia Adelaide Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood and wife Emily. LORD Mayor Stephen Yarwood is now the lowest paid of any mainland capital city leader after his counterpart in Perth received a huge pay rise last week. The salary of Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi is set to leap more than $100,000 to $175,000 following a tribunal determination. But Mr Yarwood, who earns just under $130,000, has refused to call pay parity, despite saying he works as hard and has a similar level of responsibility to State Government ministers on more than $200,000. "To be Lord Mayor is an absolute privilege regardless of how much you get paid," Mr Yarwood said. I will continue to work harder than I ever have in my life and I don't do it for the money. I'm not claiming I want a payrise. The Lord Mayor of Brisbane's "super council," Graham Quirk, takes home more than $266,000 a year. Melbourne's Lord Mayor Robert Doyle earns about $171,500, while City of Sydney leader Clover Moore is entitled to $166,000. Mr Yarwood even earns less than the mayors of Geelong and Darwin, who are on $163,000 and $144,000 respectively. However, he fares better than Hobart Lord Mayor Damon Thomas, who pockets $110,000. Mr Yarwood, whose allowance does not include any superannuation, said he worked "often early (mornings) and late into the evenings, as well as weekends and public holidays." "The hours I have and the responsibility I have would not be dissimilar to a minister," he said. In Perth, Ms Scaffidi will earn a base allowance of $130,000 plus up to $45,000 for attending council meetings.