There are extra bucks in extra hours. If you make yourself less available by living further from the work well that is your choice.
Perhaps the reality more pertinent is that the salary on offer means that living a reasonable distance from base is simply not financially possible.
Indeed the NTSB report referred to fatigue and the effect of commuting, which itself may be a result of the 'salary' on offer rather than a simple choice.
The UK CAA is currently conducting a review of commuting and sources suggest that there is more to the reasons a pilot 'commutes' a distance by road or air other than personal choice: cost of accommodation and the salary on offer being two.
As Qantas link are finding in Sydney, a median wage package does not attract sufficient applicants, thus the 'need' for skilled shortage visas, rather than providing a livable salary in a very expensive city.