Shirley wants to know what other countries in the world have compulsory voting. Don't know the answer to that, but I do think that having it improves our democracy. How many other democracies in the world actually work as well as ours (as badly as it does sometimes work...)? She would like to ensure that only committed people vote. I sometimes think that being committed is just what the people who voted for our current government need to be. Most people faced with a compulsory vote actually do think seriously about the choice. The main problem is that they are not provided with the information required to make an informed choice because both politicians and media organisations lie to them. You only need to look at the United States to see what happens to a democracy where not only voting but registration to vote is voluntary.

NHJ! (HA): See also the comments of John Chambers and Jaimie Polson.

Shirley, you have every right to reply.