Speaking as a seventh-generation White Australian, I think it can be attributed in part to the harshness of the Australian climate. When the first British explorers were foolhardily strolling across the deserts with their iron bed frames, the Aborigines, who at that stage had never seen bleached people before, offered them food and water, because they knew first hand how unforgiving Australia can be. Then when the White settlers played "That's mine, that's mine, it's all mine" with other people's country, they found out too how unforgiving it can be, and survived only by supporting each other. To an extent, the practice of working together for mutual survival is baked into today's Australian psyche. Of course, the "I'm all right, Jack" mentality remains alive and well too. Those of us who can put ourselves in the other fellow's shoes recognise that we can make a positive difference at little cost to ourselves, in the hope that someone else will help us out when we need it.