Dick Mackerras described part of the problem as out of date regulations which had been written on the basis of reasonable people doing reasonable things....
Therein lies an important point; the regulations used to be a reasonable
safety net, but now they are a
target pursued (or lobbyed against) by unreasonable people.
Ansett pilots accepted the CAO 48
trial partly on management word that the long duty days would be occasional; for disruptions and a couple of problem sectors. What actually happened: crews were routinely rostered to the limit, and expected to extend for disruptions. I recall an FOs anecdote flying with a management Captain faced with the need to extend – Captain: "I'm management – I guess we should extend". FO: "You're management – why don't you follow the rules".
Jetstar is currently formalising its integrated Fatigue Risk Management System in accordance with best practice risk management approach.
This reads like crew welfare is a high priority: In reality, it's more like a dairy farmer using
best practice to get a few more drops of milk from each cow just short of killing them (well, at least until long-service nears).
My hope: the Senate realises airlines are no longer run by reasonable people, and regulates accordingly – the 1500 hour rule is probably a good start.