In general, there is no less of an anti-censorship stance among Australians than among those in the US. What we do have in Australia - with its accompanying ad

In general, there is no less of an anti-censorship stance among Australians than among those in the US. What we do have in Australia - with its accompanying advantages and disadvantages - are strong protections against defamation, particularly from the media. And it's that machinery which is at work here. Nothing is stopping the media continuing to allow comments on social media posts, if they accept the legal risks associated with defamation, or they enact a sufficient level of moderation for content which carries that risk. This is a purely commercial play, not a governmental censorship one. None of this excuses our federal government, which continues to veer towards the authoritarian end of the spectrum. But that's another topic. EDIT: fixed typo.