The Green Party wants an urgent review of salaries of public sector chief executives after a report by the State Services Commission showed some are paid more than $600,000.
The report shows the salaries increased by an average 2.7% for the year ending in June.
The highest paid chief of any ministry is Foreign Affairs & Trade head John Allen, who received $630,000 for the year - up $40,000 from the year before.
The Greens say the salaries are astronomical and should be halved, even if that means some chief executives leave.
The SSC report also says the average base salary for all public servants has increased by 3%.
But the Public Service Association disputes that. National secretary Richard Wagstaff said pay settlements were between zero and 2%.
