What the leave early & go O/S vs GA debate demonstrates, is ultimately there is a certain price to be paid to make it to the top in aviation in Australia. It's really just a question of when the bill becomes due.
A widebody Capt will be coming back to be an S/O on a 787 / A330, or the RHS of a 737. If he played his card right there should be a fistfull of $$ to continue a certain lifestyle until he eventually gets back to a to higher income. But he knows he is unlikely to ever be a widebody Capt again. Current east coast is widebody LHS is 25 years just to be at the bottom of list just to work almost every weekend.
Same over at Jetstar, a few lucky ones were there at just the right time and got very quick commands by taking T&C that looked great for a young single bloke, now older & wiser with family commitments things aren't so rosy. There is no reasonable prospect of improvement, ever, so the only option is to go O/S or become a QF S/O.
Everyone seems to think they have a scam or plan to "get ahead", but in reality, managements understand this & exploit it to the hilt. We are all worse off for it.
There are no shortcuts in this game. Almost nobody has "got ahead", no matter what path they have chosen.