50 reasons we think Australia is great and NOT "backwards"

Australia has been described as a country full of ‘throwback people’ in a shocking interview with Margot Robbie in Vanity Fair.

According to the publication’s contributing editor Rich Cohen, “Australia is America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback” country at "the bottom of the world" that “still live and die with the plot turns of soap operas.”

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Hold up Rich Cohen. Australia isn’t trying to compete with America or the U.K. - or any other country for that matter, because our country is so damn unique. And Margot Robbie - and the rest of Australia - would well agree!

Here are 50 reasons why we think Oz is so damn amazing

1. We have more than two weeks annual leave, unlike the United States (usually four weeks or more), and after ten years we get three months PAID long service leave!

2. It’s home to some pretty rare animals like kangaroos, koalas, platypus etc.

3. The lifestyle is laid back. Australian’s have a reputation for being friendly compared to most other cities in the world.

4. The crime rate is comparatively low as well.

5. The coffee. Starbucks tried to invade the scene a few years ago but was forced to close 61 one of its 87 stores because we’re too loyal to our local baristas.

6. Indigenous Australians, aboriginals, have the oldest continuous culture on the planet.

7. There are so many beaches! If you visited every beach in Australia it would 27 years to see them all.

8. Hyam’s Beach in NSW has the world’s whitest sand.

9. Tasmania has the world’s cleanest air.

10. Sydney IMAX theatre is the largest cinema screen in the world.

11. There are 60 wine regions in Australia.

12. Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsunday Island has been voted the most beautiful beach on the planet.

13.There’s a pink lake in Western Australia.

14. The Australian Alps receive more annual snow than Switzerland.

15. It’s a diverse place to travel with rainforests, beaches, ski-resorts and stunning ancient landscapes.

16. The minimum wage in Australia is $16.88. The minimum wage in America is $7.3 and the U.K. is $8.

17. Medicare. Australia has one of the most efficient healthcare systems in the world.

18. Vegemite. Enough said.

19. Job opportunities. With a strong economy and low unemployment rate of around 5%, Australia is a great place to find work.

20. Australis Borealis. Our night skies put on an amazing light show.

21. The quality of fresh produce is the best in the world.

22. We have BIG everything.

23. There’s a day off (in Victoria) for gambling, the Melbourne Cup a.k.a. the game that stops the nation.

24. Our home consists of one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.

25. Our money is waterproof and pretty.

26. More than 80% of Aussies live near the coast.

27. We have the outback.. which is pretty cool.

28. Our New Year’s Eve celebrations are pretty legendary.

29. We’re resource rich with our mining industry and have got one of the world’s strongest economies.

30. It’s one of the safest countries in the world, because it’s so far away from anywhere.

31. Our women are beautiful.

32. We have the world’s best beef. In fact, we won the World's Best Steak Challenge last year.

33. Most events involve a sausage sizzle.

34. So many Hollywood stars have started off on our long-running soaps. (Chris Hemsworth, Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, Liam Hemsworth).

35. Did you know there are 8,222 islands in Australia?

36. We have the mostly deadliest animals on the planet, so beware. Although nobody has died from a spider bite since 1979.

37. Wifi was invented here by astronomer and electrical engineer John O'Sullivan.

38. Uluru is the biggest rock in the world.

39. Most of Australia's exotic flora and fauna cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

40. The world’s oldest fossil, which is about 3.4 billion years old, was found in Australia.

41. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote in 1902.

42. Melbourne topped 140 rivals to be crowned the world's most liveable city two years in a row.

43. 80 percent of Australians believe Australia has a strong culture and identity characterised by being down to earth, mateship, honesty, sports and multiculturalism.

44. The only place in the world where you can still find the lung fish which is a living fossil from the Triassic period 350 million years ago.

45. Australia is home to the longest fence in the world. It is 5,614 km long, and was originally built to keep dingoes away from fertile land.

46. Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.

47. Wolverine star Hugh Jackman is Australian.

48. We love our cooking shows, like My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef.

49. The Aussie sense of humour is like nowhere else on the planet. Did you know that an Australian man once tried to sell New Zealand on Ebay?

50. It’s home. There's no place like home.

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