Now you see that's good fun harmless humor.
What
isn't so fun is for an operator to string you along for 6 months to a year and then tell you to "f#@k off because your a kiwi"(his words, not mine).
But I guess at the end of the day that small packaged man can keep his planes (which don't seem to be doing that much work any more, karma) and his backward sence of humor. There are a lot of heaps better operators in Australia with out needing to waste you time with the likes of that guy.
That might be a bit off topic, but what I'm getting at is dont do the work if you have to lower your standards, esspecially when it comes to safety. If the operator can't find at least a couple of bucks to pay you a week then you have to seriously think about where else he's tring to cut costs. And that applies to both sides of the ditch!
Good luck mate, enjoy