A third factor may be how Australian skies, while considered to...

A third factor may be how Australian skies, while considered to be 'busy', are not when compared to flight volumes in the USA and Europe.

One can offer no clues as to when but QAN's luck will regrettably run out one day.

The airline is indeed a master of spin, and it's extremely difficult for outsiders to analyse complex metrics like 'safety' but in the end it'll be insiders (varying from the genuinely and legitimately concerned to those who have a more short term axe to grind) who'll blow the whistle.

The adulation (with an occasional dose of light criticism to throw readers off the scent) QAN receives from 'aviation journalists' shows just how compromised some individuals are when they accept freebie J (business class) flights or a much rarer first class trip, and also as you mention admission to the QAN Chairman's Lounge.