Aussie Greeters

I find it very annoying when Aussies 'greet' you.
They'd say...
"How's it going mate?"
"How'r ya today mate?" etc
If these were opening lines for a conversation then its okay, I use it too.
If they mean what they say, usually they don't, its okay too.

However, they seem to overuse these lines as a form of greeting even to strangers and whoever they see, and everytime they 'ask' these 'greetings' I'd have to say 'great' and 'ask' him back. Then he replies the same and heads off because we're just passing each other. I find this meaningless.

Nowadays, we're just walking too fast to pause and reply-then-ask. So usually I'd just reply and not 'ask' them how are they anymore.
Or I'd just say "g'day or g'morning" (or whatever's appropriate) and they'd do the same. I find this works quite well. More so for mates that have worked with me for some time. They hardly say "How's it going mate?" anymore.

Hope this blends into the culture soon. =D