@paulag - basically you are supposed to register yourself on the electoral roll once you turn 18, which means that they can check everyone's name against the list after the election and send you a fine if you didn't vote. So some people don't register themselves on the electoral roll so they don't have to vote. I don't know if the government actively chases up people who don't register. Voting is one of the 'privileges' of being an Australian citizen (permanent residents don't get to vote), yet in recent times it feels like a punishment because of poor leadership. Besides, you probably have read about some of the recent Prime Ministers of Australia who are not actually elected into office by the people but by party politics instead, typically when they think a current Prime Minister has a low approval rating and they believe replacing the leader will give them a better chance of staying in power (actually doing a better job governing will). I could RANT ON forever about this but politics is not interesting even on Steemit :(