Australia has always been quietly very authoritarian. It tries to pretend that it's all beer and barbecue on the beach, but having an open alcohol container in

Australia has always been quietly very authoritarian. It tries to pretend that it's all beer and barbecue on the beach, but having an open alcohol container in a public place is illegal, and barbecues are only allowed in specific places (and the beach isn't one of them). There's a term for it: Wowsers [0] - people who police others' behaviour. The Wowsers and the Larrikins [1] battle for Australia's soul. The Wowsers are winning. Appealing to Australia's Wowsers is always politically beneficial. Any law that strengthens police powers goes over really well. And then add Murdoch, who owns all the newspapers, controls both major parties, and hates the internet with a passion (because it's destroying his business and power base). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wowser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wowser [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larrikin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larrikin