The comments were probably fair enough. Australia is a country where egalitarianism has freed many people from the kind of pretension that demands refinement. Consequently, instead of going to the supermarket in the latest designer clothes, Australians may shop in tracksuit pants or ugg boots. The same attitude is expressed in much of their life. Although this doesn’t always impress foreigners, it can lead to the kind of mental freedom identified by English author D.H Lawrence when he wrote,