Every few years Air NZ tries to add pilot to the Skills Shortage List by sponsoring articles which claim commercial aviation is about to collapse through a lack of pilots.
One of the NZ aviation advocacy groups has documented their repeated failed attempts to "predict" a chronic shortage and claim that the ONLY resolution is to import skills rather than actually invest in the country's population.
Aus/NZ airlines: how about you put your money where your mouth is and fund the gap between 250 and 1500 hours then you wouldn't have this problem. Stop trying to get someone else to pay for it. It's the cost of doing business.