Many current IFR maintained machines in AUS will become VFR only because of the current early mandate. How can this possibly be anything other than a lowering of safety standards?
No doubt some owners may elect to hold off for a few years until costs come down and fly VFR. That's not permanent, not the end of the world and will probably happen in the U.S. as well in due course.
Give them some credit for being professional enough flyers to not endanger themselves, passengers and aircraft by getting into unsafe situations.
Airservices Australia has pushed CASA into introducing a mandate that all small planes that fly in cloud must be fitted with an expensive electronic box called ADSB
To Mr and Mrs Joe Public, that probably sounds like a good thing i.e. in their thinking small planes shouldn't fly in clouds and be a hazard to themselves and bigger planes unless they have the proper equipment.