Its funny how you guys refer to " Australian pilots wanting to return home"
Could one assume they left Australia for better working conditions or perhaps a better package. So I take it this is acceptable. So if an adequately qualified foreigner , legally has the right to have better conditions than what he presently has in his home country desires to live in Australia , this is now unacceptable. Double standards here gents.
It may be double standards if those supporters of leaving Oz turned round and claimed we shouldn't accept similar.
However, who's to say those that argue against importing pilots under the smokescreen of a so-called/engineered/convenient "shortage"
did support pilots leaving Oz ... and did those pilots take up positions to the clear detriment of locals in the countries to which they headed, or were the circumstances entirely different? Did those pilots prevent locals who'd shelled out AU$50,000 - AU$100,000 from getting the employment that would justify their debts?
Apart from assisting potential victims of economic downturn in certain countries, all that importing pilots would do is add another fraction of a cent to shareholder value of certain companies ... but of course, that's what counts these days, isn't it?