Ugh. I'm Australian too. Technically first generation because my dad is Russian and my mum is Austrian, but I've always been "Australian" because I was born and grew up here, and English was always my first language at home.

Fast forward to living and working in Melbourne and Sydney as a ~20yo, I met tons of people who considered themselves fiercely Italian/Greek/Croatian/Lebanese who would ham-up their accents and get overly offended by little cultural nuances, even though they were second or third generation migrants. I don't get it.

I even dated an "Italian" girl once and took her to an Italian restaurant. When the waiter asked what type of pasta she wanted with the dish, she ordered "Al dente". Her grandmother was Italian, thus she was totally Italian