As an Australian: this is about as true as the idea that we all ride kangaroos to work and live in constant fear of dropbears.
That word in Australia is just as offensive as anywhere else, and I wish people would stop perpetuating the misconception that it's fine.
It's certainly not "part of our culture" or "just a normal word", and it's a little ironic that you would call out GP for "forcing cultural norms onto foreign countries" while in the same comment spreading falsehoods about Australian cultural norms.
Hard though it may be to believe, we're generally fairly civil down here.