Ten years ago I would have agreed with using UK and US standards and abolishing or delimiting the role of the TGA. As the OP points out, most of the time it's just a delay - an ass-covering exercise that inevitably leads to approval.
So what's changed? Quite simply, I don't trust that the US and the UK are functioning democracies anymore. Populist governments have begun the process of "deconstructing the administrative state" in both countries, politicising and corrupting previously highly regarded governmental bodies. I don't trust US and UK standards now.
Ideological corruption permeates every aspect of US society, turning even the idea of what is a disease and what is its cure into logic-defying religious and political culture war issues. Evidence-based decision-making based on science is under threat. In the UK, it is corporate corruption that is corroding standards, with the PM this week literally changing the rules on parliamentary standards investigations so his paymasters and his corruption can be concealed. Former Bojo aide Dominic Cummings weakened the civil service with a jihad of dismantling and bullying, and many government departments and bodies simply can't function. It is clear that the uber rich increasingly control the Tory Party and their decisions.
We're not much better, but even with the incompetence and corruption of our two major parties, I believe our institutions are marginally more resilient. So I would like to keep the TGA and the status quo.
