The people have a zest for celebrating life. Work is seen only as a means to sustain the celebration of life, not a reward in itself. Life in Australia is about living and wealth is measured in terms of social currency, not material possessions. The Australian people are extraordinarily friendly. This is likely in part due to the fact that there's only nineteen million of them, so they don't have many of the problems that accompany overpopulation.
Australian pubs seem to serve as the gathering place for everybody.
Refreshingly, there is little pretentiousness among Australians and it's not unusual at all to have a street bum sitting on a bar stool side by side having a conversation with a political dignitary or a wealthy businessman. The going joke is that if God walked into an Australian pub, everyone there would be on a first name basis with him before the last drink for the night was served. It's about as close to a classless society as there is, except for the sometimes atrocious attitude toward the Aboriginal people. Unfortunately, as often times is the case, there is a ugly rift between the indigenous Aboriginal people and the newcomers and the distaste goes both ways. I've heard this line first hand.