Brit here who has been to Oz a couple of times. That was my observation re taking the worst things from the US. I wondered if they did that in their rush to distance themselves from the UK post independence.
When I went there, the shops, TV news and ads - all had a very US feel, which I wasn't keen on.
It did feel heavily regulated - heck, for 20m people they have state and federal agencies for everything. Must be such a high % in gov employment.
They have kept everyone happy using all the easy mining money that they basically just dig out of the ground but the wheels do seem to be falling off now
Even if it is childish, that is better than dishonesty and rewriting the truth - which is what the presenter who invented the phrase was doing