Croc Dundee, not having a go, but you forget to mention one thing.....
The Guys and Gals in Oz have something we could never dream of: Protection.
They may face demotion, or even worse the arse, but QF will have to pay them for it, so at worst they will get a nice redundancy payment, on top of their Superannuation, they'll get paid for leave and sick leave that they haven't used, (yes, it accrues!!!), and they will get to remain in a country where they are not left hung out to dry, medically, with schooling etc etc etc etc etc, and etc! They have "Contracts" that their Employer must abide to also. Imagine.
If I got a call tomorrow from my previous employer to go fly the Maggot around the sunburned country as an F/O, I'm pretty sure I'd be packing my bags, and would have to run to keep up with the missus to hail a cab to the Airport!!
Unfortunately, in this industry, that won't happen, as once you leave a "good" Airline, it's rare that they will have you back. Don't forget seniority also. We made a sacrifice to come here. Somehow it seems that instead of some reward for it, we are getting punished more and more.