Ansett cabin crew were very well paid and earnt more than many pilots who weren't flying for airlines, certainly more than I was flying freight.
A book could be written on the demise of Ansett. Basically it was an airline which didn't move with the changing times and went the way of the dinosaur.
Back in the regulated days of Ansett/Trans Australia Airlines, there were two airlines flying on a route, with the same aircraft type, at the same times, for the same fare. Staff were highly paid in both companies, highly unionised and had archaic working practices. The consumer had no choice but to pay for all this through exhorbitant fares.
Trans Australia Airlines are now part of a privatised QANTAS and took some steps into the twentieth centuary. Enter a low cost in the form of Virgin Blue who started with a clean sheet of paper for work practices, terms and conditions and the writing was on the wall. AN was bleeding money, then 11/09/2001 happened and it was basically curtains. The government quite rightly refused to prop things up with tax payer money, a rescue attempt with private money was briefly considered but when the players realised it was non profitable it was game over.
Management must take its share of the blame, as must the staff. When a relatively small airline operates A320s and B737s, when B767s have to be fitted with a flight engineers panel to comply with a union agreement, when a flight gets cancelled because one cabin crew member goes sick and the remaining crew refuse to operate without a replacement even though they are still +1 on the legal minimum number.
Without a backer prepared to fund all this, it doesn't get to go on forever.
Currently British Airways cabin crew are the closest comparison to Ansett cabin crew and will probably go the same way. Hopefully they don't take everyone elses jobs with them.