Lack of interest, thanks for your post.
Regarding your comment that most of the ATR pilots want Sydney or Melbourne, then why don't they take the Canberra base and commute from either Sydney (driveable) or Melbourne and bid for a Sydney or Melbourne B737 FO slot? There have been a number of pilots who live in Canberra and commute to Sydney, so the reverse could be done. Given the amount of movement over the next few years most would end up on the B737 within the next 12-18 months. And it would mean only one move from Brisbane to either Sydney or Melbourne.
The ATR pilots are not the first pilots who have to move base to keep their jobs. During the GFC a number of Brisbane B737 FOs were forced to move to Sydney to keep their job. And don't forget there has been a large number of Sydney based B737 Captain's who have been commuting from Brisbane for 9+ years, while waiting for their Brisbane slot to come up.
With regards to your comment about the email stating that if the ATR pilots don't bid in the next import then NZ or Perth are the only likely bases, well the remaining Ejet pilots that haven't put a bid in have been told the same and that's the reality. If you don't bid, the East Coast slots will go to those next on the GDOJ or to externals, as the company needs to fill the slots.