BnG- I think that-
"The only reason JetStar exists is because of Government conniving."
is right up there with the grassy knoll and the Chinese submarine off Portsea!
The only reason Jetstar originally was bought into existence was as a low cost competitor to Virgin. It wasn't created from scratch but was a rebadged Impulse which Dixon bought for that very reason. It was his ace up the sleeve. Dixon did not like pilots (by way of his background role in Australian Airlines during the dispute) and wanted to separate Jetstar pilots from Mainline pilots.
The MOU required Mainline pilots to go to reduced pay and conditions if they wanted a start with Jetstar. Dixon was not a stupid person and knew that promotional opportunities was a big motivator for most pilots. He was right when the movement of pilots between one business to the other was all one way but it was never going to be unrestricted access.
The subsequent success of Jetstar (by management standards), took everyone by surprise so it was expanded internationally and basically has snowballed from there. Its reason for being has changed dramatically with the whole"Pan Asian Strategy".