Newly sworn-in Cabinet ministers and other MPs are set for an instant pay rise - one likely to take the annual salary of Prime Minister John Key to near the $400,000 mark.
The annual pay increase awarded to members of Parliament is scheduled to be made public today after being decided by the low-profile Remuneration Authority.
High inflation over the period covered and strong wage growth in the public sector means the rise could be about 4% or 5%.
MPs do not control their own pay levels but the issue has often been a controversial one - particularly in 2005 when the authority decided to correct "slippage" in the rates and gave Helen Clark a generous 9.4% rise.
In making its determination, the authority takes into account pay rises in the public service and judiciary, plus private sector trends.
The pay rise comes in tough economic circumstances and is likely to be put under the microscope as the new Government looks for places to trim spending.
Recruitment and remuneration specialists approached yesterday said the labour market over the time period the authority had been examining - July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008 - was very competitive.
"You're certainly looking in that 4%-5% range in terms of general market movements," said Sherry Maier, senior reward consultant at Sheffield Ltd.
Public sector pay rises have been outstripping the private sector.
Others noted base salary movements varied across the board and depended on skills and competition for talent.
Official data put public servant adjusted pay rises in the year to June 30 at 3.7%.
But unadjusted figures - the best indicator of "take home pay" - were as high as 5.5% for public and private sectors combined.
Former prime minister Helen Clark earned a salary of $375,000 over the past year and deputy Michael Cullen got $264,500.
With both of them now moving into new roles sitting on the Opposition benches they are set to see their pay cut to nearer $130,000, even with the new rise taken into account.
On the other side of the coin, Mr Key will get the pay rise added to the existing Prime Minister's salary of $375,000, after previously getting $233,000 as leader of the Opposition.
Mr Key - who is a multimillionaire after a successful career in the financial world - donates most of his taxpayer-funded salary to charities and has said he intends to continue doing that with the bigger pay packet.
The biggest winners in the changeover of the Government in pure salary terms are the National MPs who have gone from Opposition seats to positions in Cabinet.
Among them are Gerry Brownlee, Simon Power, Judith Collins, Tony Ryall, Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett.
They rocket up from salaries of about $130,000 to nearer $240,000.
Ministers outside Cabinet - who include United Future's Peter Dunne, Act New Zealand's Rodney Hide and Heather Roy and Maori Party co-leaders Tariana Turia and Dr Pita Sharples - get almost $200,000.
New Labour leader Phil Goff gets the same amount of money as he moves from being a Cabinet Minister to being Leader of the Opposition.
The Remuneration Authority's determination is set to appear in the New Zealand Gazette this afternoon.
