As usual Paul Keating is wise after the event, his observation may well have been true, but it wasn't tested so we will never know.
A contrary view however is that QF must have had a green light for its actions from its shareholders and bankers or its actions would have been reckless in the extreme and shareholders would have extracted reparations really quickly.
My bet is the action was well planned and executed with prcision immediately after the AGM to get best effect and get it out of the way before the Xmas high season statred.
Nothing like a celebration of general goodwill to remove the bad memory, look now the QF lockout is not news any more.