In a way, it's completely in line with the (white) Australian longing for parochialism, like the parent cultures of the US and UK have. A lot of (white) Australian identity is done with the goal of being like those two, but better, in our own unique way. https://twitter.com/iancwhitney/status/1348795184742428673

Fundamentally, white Australians are a monoculture. Mention this to anyone from any major city and you will be treated to a litany of confected, minor differences in their cultures. For example, did you know that Melburnians like coffee?? Not just any coffee: good coffee! Wow.

Meanwhile you can get decent espresso coffee at the most basic cafe in Bega.

But if you met someone in Brisbane, would you be able to tell they were born and raised in Perth if they did not tell you?

The UK has a highly parochial culture which has evolved over centuries, well before any form of rapid communication. A large portion of the US was colonised and by Europeans before then as well, in addition to a divisive civil war.

Meanwhile, Australia got telegraph lines about 20 years after the city of Melbourne was founded. Movement and communication between the major population centres here has always been possible and frequent.

When it comes to things that differentiate Australians, unless it's race/language/"foreign" culture, there's little things like sport. But even Sydney has a quite popular AFL team and Melbourne has arguably the most successful NRL team.

But if you're not racist (and you shouldn't be), how do you slake the thirst for othering, for competition, and for superiority? You invent some sort of divide between states where none really exists. There exists difference between rural and metro people, but that's universal.

One might argue people from Broken Hill and Mt. Isa are more aligned then they would be with their Sydney and Brisbane respective counterparts. Which obviously goes contrary the lines we've drawn on a map.

I stress again, although this is a feature of white Australia, since that's the makeup of the vast majority of political officeholders, media editorial boards, and corporate governance, it's pretty much washed over everyone; non-members of the group can elect to participate.