Basically, many config files using this syntax, when read, will strip everything that is located to the right of hash signs (#) including those hash signs (except when enclosed with quotes or other cases). This makes it that the only lines that will be left in the locale.gen file are those that do not contain hash signs, or have text preceding it. In your case it would be the Australian English locale (en_AU, I think). Yes, you could erase all the other lines, but it serves no use to do so, and might make it slightly harder if you later wish to add another locale (foreign visitor, learning a new language, troubleshooting deficient locales...). -- Sébastien Leblanc
