Flown the US GG, operated in a danger area under VFR and the airline service happily flew through as well. Would that occur in Oz? Times change and the introduction of technology such as TCAS etc helps. Funny thing though, flew Vietnam which was all VFR and the only mid air I heard of, and saw the results, was between a Porter and Cobra, forget the exact details, but occurred landing/taking off, the wreckage of both lying in the grass not 50 feet from the runway.
Could things in Oz be better? Of course they could, but where does the money come from, what area of the budget do you cut to divert the cash to aviation, or raise taxes? If you cut your cloth according to your situation, you limit what you do to take account of the resources you have is an old saying.