SEO is not a good industry, it's the equivalent of government lobbying , but this time with a different overlord. The problem with google is not that it's a search engine, but that it has bought and guards every significant entry point to the web

But (as you say), not letting Google index your stories at all reduces your traffic to the point where you can't make enough money to pay the journalist either.

It's a very tough call for the newspaper industry. The only way out that I can see is getting readers to pay for news. Unfortunately we've educated an entire generation that news is free. Going back from that is going to be difficult.

It's worth pointing out that this is not the hidden secret that needs exposing, but the public motivation for this policy. The government is trying to present this as "tech monopolies are abusing kind producers of Australian news, and because the tech monopolies have such a strong hand, we must compel them into making agreements they otherwise would not have chosen".

That's why they've gone to such an extent to try and prevent the "well we just won't index you" loophole.