Don't know if it's true but Ozmates have been given special expat treatment before due to their militant reputation in the wake of the 1989 AFAP debacle. AFAP somehow convinced the membership to resign en masse, hoping a prime minister with a labor background would force a settlement. In the U.S. PATCO convinced the air traffic controllers to go on an illegal strike hoping former labor leader Ronald Reagan would call them back to work, the results were similar.
Emirates put a hiring ban on Ozzies a few years ago, fearing that they would try to replicate their union movement in Dubai.
I ran into a former Cathay 49'er from Australia in KIX the other day. He was working on a Parc contract for one of the Japanese carriers. He felt bitter because he had loyally followed AFAP off a cliff then became a point man for HKAOA only to be hung out to dry when his contract was suddenly terminated in the purge.
SQ has been firing flight attendants as they near completion bonus payments and rumor has it that another round of management heads are on the block, including several station managers.