Why Australasian cruisers would be built in Britain

Would large cruisers for Australia or New Zealand have been built locally or in Britain?

In Britain, because creating the necessary Australasian industrial base would make each ship several times more expensive.

National ownership does not require local construction. Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania did not possess spare infrastructure able to begin large cruiser construction without a major preparatory program. Creating that capacity would require imported machinery, skilled people, recruitment, and extensive capital investment. A locally built ship might cost three or four times as much, making a British yard the practical choice.