On international that just scrapes above Silver (couple of returns to europe, around 190 SC each using the middle fair (ie. no cheapest not PE)), so not that great outcome in any case - one entry to the QP and faster check in (which is nice, I admit). Even if using early bird fares and getting 3 returns, still at least 100 SC short of gold.
Someone mentioned the qantas club membership, I don't think it's that great - I took it when they waived the joining fee because I could spare the money (and ironically I'll be making gold for the 1st time through unplanned work trips, so I won't even need it until mid 2016 ...).
But on domestic it's not worth that much (how many pints can you drink in 30 minutes before your flight to make up the money ...), and on international you can buy lounge access for way cheaper than that, for ex $50-70 in Dubai, you'd need 10 of those to match the QP membership (and if you need 10 then you'll be gold anyway), more if you didn't get a discount on joining fee. I think you can also buy access in HK. Not to mention of course QF banning QP from the lounge in Dubai if not on QF flights, even if there is no actual QF code-share with EK for the next leg ...
Also honestly, the QF business amenities bag is rubbish ... looks like a pencil pouch for pre-schoolers ...
Disclaimer: fly mainly for work, got comped PS this year, never made gold so far, got a MEL-DXB upgrade to business on points, but was flying mid week on a half empty plane, so probably would have got it as NB.
Any business is in it for itself, not the customer - their main purpose is to extract money from us with the minimum amount of effort on their part. Doesn't matter if it's QF or QFF, same goals.