Just been told today that Air NZ will take on some SO's very soon. An announcement due end of this month.
Air NZ have been in consultation with the chaps from PARC aviation in the UK to find possible contracts for their excess 76 drivers. If they can get enough takers to bring the numbers in line with the current fleet, they will have a better case for external appointments of the S/Os they're currently short on. That could mean that some (probably not all) of those waiting for starts will be in luck. Probably no more interviews yet though, and the time frame for recruitment should still be the same in the longer term as pilots are received back from unpaid leave (unless they find some greener grass elsewhere).