$35/hour and supply your own gear? Really?

[MissionMan]

I'm not a professional photographer by any standards but I'm fortunate enough to have a full time job that helps sponsor my hobby. I was trawling through seek.com.au the other day (I use it as a hunting ground to identify what projects are happening in our industry) and decided to do a search for photographers to see what the market was like. No intention of shifting across, pure curiosity.

One of the first ads that caught my eye was this one:

http://www.seek.com.au/Job/photograp...ourne/22592511

They're looking for a photographer, with the following equipment guidelines:

• Camera Body: Nikon or Canon
• Professional 500W-1000W Studio lighting
• 2nd Camera Body - Nikon or Canon
• Pro 24 - 70mm 2.8 lens
• Pro 70 - 200mm 2.8 lens
• Pro 300 or 400mm 2.8 lens

So, in short, they're looking for a competent photographer (outdoor and studio experience), with about $20k+ worth of gear and they're prepared to pay the sum of $35/hour?

Is it really that bad out there? Or am I missing the point?