Easy on the Kiwis
I accept that the Kiwis will be offered these jobs with Pacific Blue first, however in fairness to them, just because the wage structure in many NZ industries is lower than OZ does not necessarily mean that they will be doing it tougher.
If for example the cost of living is ten percent lower and the wages are ten percent lower, then if I were a Kiwi I would see no problem at all. Unfortunately/fortunately, I am not in a position to comment on either.
Obviously, there is cause for concern when one pilot after another ultimately gets paid less for "making it in to the BIG time.......?" and from what I have read on PPRuNE Jet connect may well be more than cause for concern, however I do not believe there would be any wage (I would like to think salary) structure out yet.
Perhaps it is not time to get excited just yet. As Steve Liebman says "Be alert but not alarmed'
Ultimately, each airline will pay the price for crappy pay. Given; pilots may provide their own funding on endorsements but you cannot replace experienced crew easily, in house training beyond endorsement and check to line is time consuming and expensive and if the turnover remains high any statistician would surely agree that the likelihood for a hull loss will increase.
People will always be happy to purchase low cost tickets, however I have never heard anyone up the back of a jet on a dark and stormy night complaining that the guy up the front gets too much money....