Funny thing is, I was just saying the very same thing to a Cathay mate who popped over for a few "Cooper-Pale ales" last night.
There's no way we would have spent time in PNG, getting that bush cunning if more opportunities had been present in Oz.
Look at Europe, they have no hesitation in promoting low time cadet pilots into high capacity RPT, and their weather and traffic volumes are no-where near as benevolant as ours.
Lets face it the new A/bus and Boeing are so foolproof you really have to make a fist of it before you will auger a new hole in th deck!
Therein lies the escape clause for all the accountants who presently drive operations at all the major airlines. They will run fatiguing rosters with inexperienced crews knowing the nice new shiny jets will scream out a warning before the sh*t hits the N1.