Lets get the story straight.
Cathay now only hire HKID card holders for the ab initio programme. This I totally agree with. The reason that non locals were being considered was because at one point they were struggling to get enough locals through the recruitment process. The HK dept of immigration has stopped this so it's now a non issue.
As for the AE and TT programmes lets talk about what you need. Sloppyjoe says 250 hours isn't a skill. No its not but read on.
AE 250 hours with 100 hours PIC minimum. The people I interviewed with bar one had at least 1000 hours more than this minimum.
TT An ATPL with 500 hours on multi engine a/c greater than 2000kg.
Now I don't know how the AE and TT programs are stealing jobs from locals as I doubt there are no more than a couple of HKers around the world holding these quals. I know a couple and they didn't make it through the interview process. That's not CX's fault.
As for foreigners working in OZ Schweizer let me think,
REX sponsors type rated Saab 340 Captains from overseas.
Skywest was sponsoring ATR 72 Capt's and FO for introduction of type.
Jetgo is currently sponsoring type rated ERJ 145 Capt's and FO's.
Now Australia has a huge GA sector with plenty of out of work pilots yet some companies get away with hiring expats. If Australia has to get outsiders in from time to time I don't see how CX can function without getting expats in to crew their aircraft.
As I pointed out at the start, Ab initio is no longer open to non HKID card holders so please stop talking about it and saying that expats are taking all your jobs. It's getting a little tiring now. I suspect some people making these statements are Hong Kongers who have failed to secure a place on the programme and now place the blame on expats.