Agree with many of the points you've raised QFRegional...
By way of clarification, however, re:Impulse/Jetstar crews...
During Impulse EBA II negotiations, it was agreed between the parties that 8 crew would go over per career progression transfer under the terms of the Agreement.
This was done to:
a) Bring us into line with other QF Regionals (as we were then); and
b) Provide a career path into the 'parent' carrier from a much smaller carrier.
Like Eastern, we sacrificed some things in order to get it - as with any negotiation.
It wasn't done to undermine the position of any of the other Regional airlines - simply to bring us closer into line with Eastern and Sunstate.
By comparison, because Eastern and Sunstate have had CP a lot longer than Jet*, both airlines have a larger number of positions available compared to Jet*.
Eastern = 15 positions
Sunstate = 12 positions
Jetstar = 8 positions
This whole matter comes down to management bonuses and meeting KPI's. In Qantas' case, they don't want permanent crew - this affects the KPI for permanent crew on the books, and thus affects the bonus.
Fingers crossed that movement occurs sometime soon, against the odds.