A few good suggestions here but with regards to the ex, he is a manipulator and a I could go on about his problems but what's the point. Best for the wife to stay in Albury to protect the young one and his well-being rather than moving him to a different location only to find problems from the ex which would happen given his past performances. Staying at Albury for her keeps him happy and thus is in the best interests of the child.
I think a good idea is to take a week on/off arrangement with QLink and wait to see if an Albury base option comes up with Rex or wait until V Aus are recruiting again and get into the international side of things and get a fair bit of time off and be able to commute from Albury or take the flexi arrangement with JetStar when they start actively hiring guys again.
Thanks for all your feedback.