Yeahh, riiiight. Dangling a carrot to end CC. A carrot which will probably not eventuate.
With starry-eyed wannabes lining up in droves to join the company on HKPA, there is little financial incentive for CX to expand AUS bases. Also, there is the LSL liability, particularly for captains.
However, they do benefit from Reserve capability, at least in my experience on an AUS base. For some reason, those naughty Hong Kong pilots never answer their hotel room phones. And maybe, just maybe, they might one day become a little concerned about retention of senior, experienced crew.