The example now you give of the anaesthetist is believable however you must be careful not to extrapolate. For example some specialists will in certain situations get paid many thousands per hour, yet this will only occur once or twice a week. Surgeons for instance will be paid greatly when doing surgery, yet most of their time is spent seeing patients prior to surgery, diagnosing problems or following up post surgery. Some surgeons will only spend 1 day a week doing surgery.
At the end of the day it depends how much value the community places on their doctors. How much do you think someone that has done 2-3 times the training of a accountant, dentist or lawyer is worth? Some societies will answer this question differently.
Over the last few years GPs wages have not been increasing in line with the CPI due to the federal governments refusal to increase medicare payments in line with the CPIs. Specialists on the other hand are able to charge virtually whatever they like as they generally belong to such small groups (limited supply).
My personal view is that many doctors are overpaid, however in comparison to the other professions I have mentioned, doctors are worth much more than they are currently paid.
There is often a failure on the patients side to appreciate the full thinking and training that has gone into their consultation ( I don't mean this in a condescending way). Australia truely has one of the best healthcare systems in the world which most don't appreciate.
One other example of this is that patients often complain about the price of medications. The PBS recently started placing the true cost of these medicines on the box. Now patients begin to appreciate how lucky they are. A specific example lipitor (to lower cholesterol) costs around $30 on script (true cost to the government around $80), yet patients still complain.

From my experience with Qld Health that whole Department needs to be sacked & restarted. The resources which go into the administrative part of healthcare are staggering. Most of course is misappropriation such as hiring a helicopter instead of going on a public ferry run or providing $800 a months 4WD cars for doctors to drive around on weekends. Nurses' accommodation too is way over the top & serves little more than free accommodation for friends & relatives. Not recording white goods etc on asset registers is another one . Patients constantly failing to go on chartered aircraft on time & have their flights booked & paid for again the next day. The list is a long one & a clear indication of the need for reform. The reform needs to focus on bureaucracy not on health.