Even not looking on the democratic/dictatorship spectrum - outside interference will always be worse than what you get from insiders. Insiders at least depend on the country welfare - outsiders just don't give a fuck.
And the US is an insider for AU... how? Because if the NSA brought any revelation it's that the US backdoored even their allies without them knowing.
I get choosing the least evil but this is a defense only as much as burning dows a building and saying "at least this little piece survived" is a defense.
Nope, FVEY was conducted very much with cooperation between the involved parties. We (Aus) have very close structural and cultural ties to the US, but China is approximately as foreign as it gets. The US may not be an insider per se, but in theory we share at least some core values.
(Not to say that I personally am ok with any of it, but from a societal perspective it makes a little sense.)
I get choosing the least evil but this is a defense only as much as burning dows a building and saying "at least this little piece survived" is a defense.