So it seems the operator also took the view that a trap was set for the PIC by what was volunteered in contrast to what was withheld.
You are the only person using the word "trap".
make me wonder if you’re qualified to pass comment on this at all because even a year one Second Officer views the above knowledge as ‘a given’.
The short answer is no he is not. LB is a smart arse ex-CASA lawyer who thinks that the only wisdom that is relevant is his. As an example:
You use phrases like “conspiracy theory” in an attempt to discredit people who have a different view than you. It does you no credit.
Yet is quite happy to suggest that there are two people posting under the one name in order to and I quote "discredit people who have a different view than you." So he is either suggesting a conspiracy of his own or paranoid or both.
He can't fathom that the "legal" framework is not failsafe and all you need when operating as a PIC responsible for crew and passengers. He refuses to accept any part of the revised report because it is from a government organisation, as he is himself. So using his logic anything he contributes is not worth considering.
Desk jockeys like Lead Balloon will never understand the difference between flying every now and then for private purposes and flying for commercial purposes. He will also never understand the difference between being responsible for yourself and being responsible for others.
On top of everything else that went on with NGA the PIC left an unconscious F/O with serious injuries in the flight deck while he went down the back of the aircraft,opened the escape hatch and was the first to evacuate the aircraft. For some bizarre reason that doesn't generate any discussion from the desk jockeys. It doesn't fit the narrative that the PIC was set up to fail by everyone else but him. It also highlights the complete lack of understanding of the role and responsibility of any PIC.