Goat, I cant say I can find fault with much you've said
However INXS has chosen to play the man..rather than the ball, throwing around insults based on prejudice and bitter feelings, rather than making a rational and well constructed argument, for that reason (and the fact that he has seen fit to slagg off anything related to NZ in other threads) he has ZERO credibility.
Goat back to a couple of specific points you make...
I think the bitterness or point that INXS is trying to make stems from the number of NZ pilots that are able to conduct their training on NZ Govt funded loan schemes and come over here to work for minimal/less then award rates in OZ. This makes it very hard for OZ pilots to make ends meet and pay off their large bank loans. Unfortunately there is no HECS/HELP for flying training in Australia.
Fair points, although NZ student loan holders still have an obligation to repay their debt..the method of how that debt is accrued is no fault of the individual. As for working below award rates..thats a two-way street, operators are just as culpable here..it is certainly not fair to lay the blame at the feet of nearest convenient NZer, indeed the same argument could be made for the numbers of Ozzies lining up to part with thousands of $$$ to get in the seat of a Bandit/Brasilia/Q400/737/320..lowering the T& C's for all concerned.
As an aside..I wonder how many Ozzies have investigated flying training in NZ after qualifying as a resident?
Secondly many NZ pilots arrive in OZ with the attitude of getting some quick single and twin hours to meet the requirements to go straight back into a regional/jet job back in NZ
As do plenty of Ozzies in PNG or Africa...(many more than NZers in point of fact)
Its not an attack on the people themselves but rather the way they go about what they are doing and the effect it has on Australian pilots and GA
I'm afraid INXS and his comments bely this statement
At the end of the day, CASA and the Australian government are the real culprits here..if fingers need pointing