It may be important to note that while Australia has a huge amount of land, most people live in the cities. Australia's urban population is 90%, versus the UK's 80% and the US's 82%. There are only a couple of large countries higher than Australia in this regard.

We have fooled not only the world into thinking we're all outback-dwellers, but also ourselves. What we like is tarmac and suburban strips.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization_by_country