Before 1975 Australia used its own oil reserves & manufactured most goods & machinery in Australia, however after 1975 trade was opened up to the Middle east & Asia & Australia begun to use middle eastern oil reserves & imported alot of goods from Asia. The Australian manufacturing sector was flushed down the toilet & Australia relied heavily on dwindling coal exports, renewable energy took a back seat after the abolition of the carbon tax.
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/07/24/car-free-towns-car-free-cities
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/06/what-does-australia-do-when-the-coal-runs-out
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/06/03/a-new-direction-for-renewable-energy
Geography: