There's guys who are clearly prepared to guts it out; Renshaw is there, Burns is there, Harris has the right model but struggles to go on with it, Bancroft was stringing consistent numbers together before Joburg. Smith and Warner are freaks, but also proof that T20 doesn't automatically kill your ability to play First Class Cricket.
The issue is that Cricket Australia have now structured the home summer to make it impossible for any player to build first class form, or the selectors to realistically assess any player's first class form.
The glaring difference between us, New Zealand, England, South Africa and India is they don't butcher the scheduling of their first class competition's to accomodate their T20 tournaments. We're unique in that regard.
New Zealand's Plunket Shield is halfway complete. It is currently on break until February for the Super Smash. That's right, NZ has the exact same domestic structure as we do (except their OD tournament is longer).
South Africa's 4-Day Franchise Series has just re-started, after taking a break in December for the Mzansi Super League.
England's T20 Blast interrupted the County Championship season during the group stage.
So no, I don't buy that for a second. The reason has to be deeper.