Poor Mr Gray!

I am inclined to believe that we should remunerate our politicians well. But it seems to me irrelevant that Gary Gray, the Special Minister of State, apparently took a $400,000 pay cut to enter the Federal Parliament. He did that with eyes wide open, and obviously decided that it was worth doing that to gain what ever he thought he was going to gain. Presumably power!
Is there not a flaw in the logic that suggests we should only be trying to attract those who make salaries which are five to ten times the national average (and more)? Could it not also be argued that people who have struggled on a third or half of an MP’s salary have a great deal to offer also because of their ability to empathise with a whole section of the electorate who understand what financial hardship really is?