here in New Zealand and most other places I know of,
Kiwi,
I take it, then, that you have not heard of Europe, Asia, the Middle east or South America, where graduating as on F/O straight onto anything from an ATR to a 777 is not at all unusual.
I went through the "Hard Yards" in Aus and don't regret a moment of it, but I have subsequently flown a 737 as Captain in a CatIII operation in Europe with an FO with 270Hrs!!
The dynamic is somewhat different than flying with a high-time guy, and there's no doubt guys with this little experience are still learning, but they do the job just fine and graduate to the LHS after about four years with little problem.
Aus anhd NZ airlines insist on high-experience recruits because they can. In places where large-scale GA doesn't exist as a training ground, the airlines take what they can get and still seem to get the job done just fine.