Or perhaps because Air NZ recently made approximately 100 Airbus FO’s redundant who need replacing via down-training as Domestic (and shortly Tasman) flying picks back up.
The SIMS (except for 777) will be working 24/7 to facilitate all the seat changes so reserving sim slots for the Aussies might not of been overly practical.
But hey, if we want to talk about anti-competive, let’s talk about the the Aussie Airline who ditched NZ Domestic during COVID (while we had to fly virtually empty Aircraft for essential services) swooping back in with $30 tickets after applying Australian laws to NZ employees and standing everyone down on zero pay. Seems fair.