"... Why is it that 90% of the stories we hear involving Australia and technology are about stupid moves by the government? Is there something unique about Australia? ..."
Yes.
Australian cultural DNA is a weird hybrid of the US, UK with it's own particular mutation. Despite being blessed with a large land mass, Australia is devoid of imagination and cannot successfully combine technology and entrepreneurship like the US. It has the smarts but lacks the sophistication of public relations and finance of the UK.
At a political and business level we seem to get stuck with leaders who revel in being 50 years behind the times.