With all due respect to our friends in the RPT world, might I suggest that a contributing factor in some of these incidents involving RPT (jet) aircraft is related to the currency that those crews might have in Class G operations? I would guess that the number of times an RPT jet crew operate into the likes of Yulara or Ballina would vary, however it would certainly not be a regular everyday occurrence. As opposed to the regional carriers whose bread and butter is in and out of Class G airfields. From my observations the obvious lack of any standardisation within the jet operators is obvious as they all seem to do it differently. Mind you the lack of standardisation is apparent in the regionals as well. The understanding of the average GA pilot in airspace structure and procedures is quite dismal and this I suggest is due to the lack of training and standardisation in the training world of CASA approved flying schools, who seem to be responsible for such training. (I have no idea how the RAAus schools address this part of training. Have to have a radio to start with!) Even the CASA examiners have their differences so where does one start in order to provide some training and standardisation? Why do some schools teach to call every leg of a circuit? No understanding and no standardisation!
Changing the airspace and the introduction of more Class E may be seen by some as the answer, however we have history back in the Flight Service days when there was significant traffic OCTA, especially in WA when the mining boom started and I don’t recall such problems. Of course there was a time when it was a requirement for RPT jets to only operate to locations where there was a tower. What killed the never used tower at Gove? Things have been different ever since and it seems nobody can but a finger on how to sort it out.
One option to follow the USA model is to take the transponder requirement away from Class E and then you can have as much E as you like. Is the risk any greater in Oz than it is over there, especially considering the difference in traffic levels? That would be a difficult call.
I would say that a significant training effort by CASA needs to be put in place with an emphasis on standardisation prior to any major proposal to introduce more Class E as ASA have just done.