Why is Australia so overwhelmingly dry when nearby places like Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Tasmania are all so wet and lush?
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I don’t think anyone has mentioned that Australia is an incredibly old continent with almost no geological activity. Volcanic action replenishes the soils, turning up and cycling nutrients. But Australia hasn’t had any of this in a very long time. So the soils loose all their nutrition and only very hardy, long lived plants are able to establish and grow. This little vegetation means that when it does rain in the dry areas (yes, the centre of Australia does indeed flood), the water isn’t “held onto” by anything and basically just washes away and gets evaporated.
Country’s like the ones you’ve mentioned, especially NZ experience a lot of volcanic activity, so they rich soils for vegetation. The east coast of Australia is the youngest part of the country and has experienced the most recent volcanic activity, so has the best soils. It’s also the wettest and most lush.
Edit: source – am studying Australian ecology and environmental science
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