Sorry, I guess I was unclear. I wasn't talking about the Telstra situation. It's not great but it also not Canada level bad. I also wasn't talking about healthcare/alcohol etc.
I think where Australia suffers is in things like imported goods (often there's an extra 20-40% markup beyond the maybe 5% higher shipping cost. Or sometimes it's shipped directly from China, but still way more expensive. I think many brand owners have just decided Australia will be able to tolerate a higher cost than the rest of the world.
I agree that there used to be a noticeable markup for e.g. electronics sold in Australia when the AUD was worth more than the USD. However, now that the AUD is worth ~USD 0.67, prices are close to the exchange rate plus 10% GST. For example, I recently bought the Pixel 3a for A$650 which is close enough to US$400 + GST.
So sure it's hardly the whole logistics story (volume, volume, volume)... but Australia is actually closer to S.E Asia (where a large volume of e.g. electronics goods are made or assembled) than the U.S.
I think where Australia suffers is in things like imported goods (often there's an extra 20-40% markup beyond the maybe 5% higher shipping cost. Or sometimes it's shipped directly from China, but still way more expensive. I think many brand owners have just decided Australia will be able to tolerate a higher cost than the rest of the world.