Since European countries are somewhat smaller, it makes sense to...

Since European countries are somewhat smaller, it makes sense to travel in the countryside and/or to neighbouring countries by car. Petrol may cost more then in main parts of Oz but distances travelled are in general less - and of course car travel allows one to go to places where other means of transport is unavailable.

Oz lacks in historical buildings but is rich in varied landscapes and varied weather across the country - but you know all the aforementioned.

Re water usage - not sure how they derived the figures - 1816l/day per person in Oz seems high. Some thoughts:

A toilet uses say 20l per flush and may be used say 5-6 times per day - say 120l.
Hand wash after say 5-6 times 5l - say 30l.
Kitchen duties 3 washups 15l per wash - say 45l.
A 5min shower using 20l/min - say 100l.
A load of washing say 100l - less for front load, a little more for top load - say 100l
Drinking water say 15l
House cleaning - say 30-50l

So, all up minus garden, it's around 460l. Of course there are variables - maybe running a bath or using dishwashers increase the litres used but even if one allows for such, there seems to be plenty of room to get to the quoted figure. Probably missed some things or perhaps too conservative.

As for Turkmenistan figures, no idea how that figure is derived - seems awfully excessive.

The article also mentioned that there is more demand for biofuel, and as a result, water needs are increasing, as for every litre of biofuel produced, between 1kl-4kl water is needed. Fresh water is in high demand but supply may not keep up as years roll on - especially also as mining puts pressure on water needs:

.https://www.mining-technology.com/features/lithiums-water-problem/?cf-view&cf-closed

Excerpt:

Lithium is a red hot topic, given its status as one of the most important materials in the green energy future. Yet while many celebrate the renewable potentials of the metal, issues are coming out of the woodwork to cast a shadow over its seemingly bright future, with reports of evaporation techniques used in its extraction sparking concerns over water scarcity. The issue is compounded by continued inadequacies in battery recycling, with Foe Europe estimating only 5% of lithium-ion batteries from the European market are collected, with the majority instead finding their way to landfill sites.

Somewhat off topic but interestingly not all that's touted to be so green is green - there are quotes that to produce just one tonne of lithium uses 500,000 gallons of water. As is often the case, recycling whilst talked about, the reality is that much of the waste instead ends up in landfill.

Fresh water, a scarce resource getting scarcer.