(Image: Sydney Morning Herald)

BY JESSICA GOODWIN

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

Christmas has come early for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is set to receive a whopping $90,000 pay rise, making her total pay-package soar to $470,000 a year.

According to the Couriermail, the salary hike will make Gillard earn more than both US President Obama, who earned $388,162.00 in 2010, and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who received a seemingly measly $205,662.

Australia’s Adelaide Now fails to see the logic behind the wage gap between the world leaders. It asks -- how can the Australian Prime Minister earn more than Cameron, when he ...

“...Presides over a world power with a population three times that of Australia"

And other government workers are seeing pay jumps too -- The Daily Telegraph reports that the base salary for even the most junior Australian parliamentarian will go from $140,000 to at least $180,000.

Still, politicians are making some sacrifices. The controversial Gold Pass, which gave retired politicians free travel for life, has been scrapped, along with the overseas study allowance.

Even with these two perks abolished, some of the Australian media is still struggling to stomach the salary hike, given newly announced plans for the government to cut spending on education and family benefits. A writer for the Herald Sun says:

“It’s hard to take and it's certainly not fair. Australian families are being asked to tighten their belts as politicians prepare to enjoy huge salary increases... Why not pay rises for Diggers putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan?”

But the Herald Sun also provides the flip side, with another writer arguing that the Prime Minister’s big wage comes with big responsibility.

“... I reckon half a million dollars for the PM is barely enough for the massive workload and around-the-clock responsibility we demand from the highest office in the land.

Frankly, it's embarrassing the PM - whoever it is - gets less than one-third what we pay the Australian cricket captain, and that's before you count the millions of dollars in sponsorships.”