Thank-you for providing the data point. Out of interest, and if you don't mind saying, what industry do you work in?
Here's some proper research showing the gender pay gap:
http://sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/108242/WRC_Gender_pay_gap_2011.pdf
"After controlling for a broad set of economic and non-economic variables, we found a gender wage gap of 8.2 per cent. This means that, all things being equal (especially age and education level) women are paid 8.2 percent less than men when doing similar work. These findings are consistent with other studies."
http://www.eowa.gov.au/Pay_Equity/Pay_Equity_Information/EPD%202011%20factsheet.pdf is also interesting, but is raw data rather than results controlled for age / education / etc.
If you took the time to Google you would have found this in minutes, and there's plenty more out there if you want more evidence (both Australian and international studies).
I assume you mean the $150k/year figure? If so, that
is wealthy (or, at the
very least, getting towards it) when you look at the actual data. The median household income in Australia in 2009/2010 was $68,640 (http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/DBE855896D8CA36DCA2578FB0018533C/$File/65230_2009-10.pdf, top of page 24), and having a household income above $150,000/year puts you in the top ~13.2% of households (according to my calculations based on data from page 18 of the same PDF). $200k/year puts you in the top ~5.6%. And for the record, it's not just the government that trots out this line - so does the opposition and most of the media on a regular basis.
I think it's easy to not realise what the true reality of income levels across
all of Australian society is. I know I've been guilty of this - I was quite shocked when I saw the above figures for the first time. I also suspect most posters on here would suffer from the same perception bias I had, which comes from mainly "travelling" in circles made up of well-educated professionals (just regular people fitting this description - not the super-wealthy).
And for the record, I'm not "playing the politics of envy" here, but trying to look at the facts. Personally, I fit into the $150k+/year bracket, but I also recognise that this is a lot of money compared to the average Australian, and at this income level (and in a certain range above/below it) it's the choices about lifestyle / how you spend your money / etc that determines how much you will "battle" to make ends meet. At my income level I could be living in a house in a much nicer suburb, driving a Porsche, eating out every night, etc, and if I did I
would be struggling - but I make the
choice to live within my means, so I do not. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if your household income is over $150k/year and you are struggling, it is because of the lifestyle
choices you've made,
not your income level.