Rule number 1: don't trust everything you read on wikipedia. A lot of the information is incorrect and taken out of context in that article. I'm not going to elaborate.

Allied governments all spy on each other to some extent or another. If you think the French, Germans, South Koreans, and other allies aren't spying on us, you're sorely mistaken.

At any rate, Aussies do some things right, but at the same time, you're right about them trying to be a nanny state with the great firewall. It's a play taken out of China's book.