You get what you pay for. Most people pursue the cheapest fare whenever they fly. Eventually Qantas has to chase that market too in order to keep the seats filled and they have to cut costs somewhere to compensate.
Qantas are still my preferred airline because they still manage to land on their wheels at airports (even when a gas cylinder has blown a hole in the side of the plane) but I occasionally worry about the long term imact of $29 flights.

