The new upper class:

‘According to a Statistics New Zealand survey of salaries in December 2009, while the average hourly earnings of private sector employees was $23.48, the rate for public sector workers was 38 percent higher at $32.36! Further, the State Services Commission provides information on salary bands which shows that more than 4,700 public servants, who work in the core public service earn over $100,000, with the top salary in the range of $490,000 to $499,999. And when it comes to the 35 chief executives of the ministries and departments, all of them earn over $240,000, with the top earning between $550,000 and $559,000 – although when extras, like pension schemes and vehicles are added in, the top salary rises to a rate of between $600,000 and $609,999.’
Muriel Newman “FINANCIAL TREMORS”