There will be an second Australian Q400 operator, M@C@IR which is trying to renamed itself as Ansett M@C @ir I am not sure what the T & C are like as its just been taken over by a new owner , which has sourced 4 ex SAS Q400 the first one is due in 3 months, and the last one by the end of the year.
It state that your preference is for New Zealand, however its another opportunity for you to fly Q400 and the lifestyle in North Queensland isn’t to bad either.