I agree you are giving them too much ammo.
Don't make it about money, QF can then generalise about salaries (some Senior Captains would be on the equivelent of nearly $500k according to their own bar room talk if you comparied it to post-tax money in the bank) don't give them the opportunity to make that a talking point.
Sacrifice the staff travel etc for the next round in three years.
Make history by turning up to the table with Australias simplest ever wish-list. One item. Job security.That will show the public how serious this is.
And as Sunfish says, get a professional and get in the media or it's a lost battle. Remember that millions of Ausi's are raising families on $60k a year, they can't be expected to take your side when they look at the money side of things. It's not human nature.