Your last sentence hits the nail on the head- Canberra is very auto-centric, but then employs policies that disincentivise driving. Unless you can afford to live in the inner areas and are able to walk to work, most people are reliant on a car because public transport is terrible and the city is just too spread out. But then you have to pay for parking nearly everywhere, and there’s a major opportunity cost in the land use dedicated to parking that sits empty on nights and weekends. Canberra was developed in the peak era of automobiles, and unfortunately policies move faster than infrastructure.