I don't see your selective quotes as praising the crew but, rather, stating the facts as the ATSB found them.
But,
Jetsbest, you should notice that none of those quotes were statements of
fact. They were all expressions of
opinion. Quotes 2 and 3 do contain a small amount of fact, I will concede, but overall, they are statements of
opinion.
To those like me that read these reports all the time, these statements stick out like the proverbial.
To me, the author/investigator is intent on building a wall of protection around the flight crew. He does not miss an opportunity to lavish praise on the captain.
It appears the author/investigator has studiously avoided any kind of examination of the flight crew's performance. The report makes clear that, after the pitch-downs, they were experiencing "mode confusion" and were overwhelmed to some degree, but the author/investigator just doesn't want to go there.
Why not?
Maybe the investigator is a former Qantas pilot himself. Maybe he is an old friend of the Captain. Maybe he has a son or daughter that is trying to get into Qantas.
Or could it be related to some nationalistic sentiment about the much-vaunted aussie pilots? Aussie pilots wouldn't get "mode confusion" would they?