I doubt physical distance has much to do with it. Australia is closer to China than the US, for example.
Australia gets a LOT of sunshine and has a LOT of empty space, which is conducive to being solar friendly. Australia also exports a lot of coal and a lot or iron ore (which is then processed using coal-generated heat), which is conducive to promoting its value and suppressing any alternatives.
Electric vehicles, however, work towards solving a specific national security problem for Australia in it's "domestic fuel security"[0][1][2][3]. A problem of which the UK is kindly highlighting the importance.
Australia gets a LOT of sunshine and has a LOT of empty space, which is conducive to being solar friendly. Australia also exports a lot of coal and a lot or iron ore (which is then processed using coal-generated heat), which is conducive to promoting its value and suppressing any alternatives.
Electric vehicles, however, work towards solving a specific national security problem for Australia in it's "domestic fuel security"[0][1][2][3]. A problem of which the UK is kindly highlighting the importance.
[0]: https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/a...
[1]: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australia-must-fast-track-...
[2]: https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/7790-what-s-n...
[3]: https://www.drive.com.au/news/government-scrambles-to-mainta...