Ken,
As someone has pointed out it is not only Qantas that suffers like this, it is the whole Industry.
When I started in the Industry 50 years ago, 51 years ago next month, but now retired thankfully, it was very different.
In Engineering for example the prefered way of starting was a 5 year Apprenticeship, during which time you worked in all sorts of different departments gaining varied experience in all parts of Engineering as well as attending a Technical College.
You then became an AME and if you studied and did all your basics finally became an LAME.
You then if you wanted to after much more on job experience would move up the ladder, all this time the people above you would have also been through all this and were very experienced IF you needed any advice or help.
Sadly though some 20-25 years ago things changed, many places brought in people as Managers straight from University, obviously quite smart people, but they did not know the front of an Aircraft from the back of it.
This has become worse over time and I suspect this is the main problem now at Qantas.