if you had any clue as to the jetconnect pilot make up you'd realise they were far more Australian than your deputy prime minister.....
I would presume dear sir that a New Zealand registered aircraft is required to have a New Zealand licensed pilot fly it. I assume you are familiar with ICAO license rules?:
Any pilot who wishes to fly on an aircraft registered in a State other than the one that has issued the licence, needs to obtain an authorization from the State of Registry.(my italics) This authorization is generally given by the State of Registry through a validation or a conversion of the foreign licence. In general, the validation process is used for short-term authorization while the conversion process is used for longer-term authorization.
So the issue is more to do with
license issue than nationality. Qantas are pushing in trade circles for free movement of labour rather like the Schengen area we have in Europe, perhaps this is exactly what they use a crew shortage of their own making to lever.