It is even better than that. The company I was with over there took quite a few (20+) F/O's on the 146 with just 250 hours and an approved course behind them. The Dash fleet is still doing that. Easyjet and Ryanair will take just about anybody who has the type rating and ability - but then very few UK airlines are interested in raw hours. They really want to see a demonstration of skill in a simulator. If you have the skills, the hours aren't very important.
Tape it Shut is indeed correct - NZ is a backwater in aviation terms, and that is reflected in the attitudes of the airlines, and, consequently, the pilot community.
I am quite certain that many of the parochial attitudes here are the result of bitter folk for whom progression was slow, trying to make it tough for anyone who might be able to rise more quickly on the basis of skill and experience gained elsewhere. There is no logical reason for it.