I agree whole heartedly that compulsory voting should be scrapped. If you don't wish to be part of the process then fine - you accept the outcome of the vote of those who do - and have another chance next election if it's not to your liking.

I find Lees reasoning as to how this might impact on either side of politics policy development in relation to 'refugees' AKA illegal immigrants rather ridiculous. I am not under-educated, uninformed, politically naive or married to a relative and am highly in favour of a harder line on illegal entry.

Most people I know are like minded, including one friend who was very sympathetic - until she got a job with Dept of Immigration looking after the needs of 'refugees'. Her attitude is now reversed. Her words, "We don't want at least 90% of these people in our country".

If you don't believe me check results of any poll since the boats started rolling in again regarding the MAJORITY (as in Democratic government) viewpoint.

With rights, come responsibilities. If you want to live in a democracy, then you need to contribute. In this instance, you need to vote (preferably, in an informed manner.)

Politicians already waste half their elected term getting us to vote for them. How much more time would they waste, if they had to convince us to vote at all?

In my utopia, politicians would see beyond job security (their job security) and do what was right for the country. As we, the voters, gradually got used to that change, so too would our attitudes towards politicians and voting. (With apologies to Plato)

Back to reality...

We already have optional voting. As 'skeptic' says he has done all his life, I voted informal in the last Federal election.
I called it my personal vote of no-confidence, and in that election it was very, very satisfying.
But I still had to go to the voting booth on the day, and I consider that a good thing. To spend a half hour once every three years is not a big ask from our system of participatory democracy.
We want to cherish our right to vote and resist any attempt to water it down. Not having it would be so much worse.

Hear, hear, Halduell,

Spot on. We do have compulsory voting even if attendance at a polling booth is not. Perfectly fine by me. People have to front up to renew their licences so why is this less important.

And to the posters who think Bogans are not all that politically savvy I have had some very grounded insights about the state of affairs around election time, often more so than what was coming from the pens of political analysts.

I remember a recently naturalized whinging pom berating a line of party supporters at a booth where I was handing out how to vote cards one election. He got into everyone's face about how ridiculous it was being forced to front up to vote and was quite abusive. Finally I said I was going to let him go in and get signed off but when he came out he was going to get my boot up his backside. Only person I have ever threatened physical violence toward at a booth. He found another exit.

He was accompanied by a rather timid wife and afterward I thought what a great thing compulsory attendance was since there was every likelihood she would not have been allowed to vote on the day.

Sorry folks, my post should have read "We do have non-compulsory voting even if attendance at a polling booth is not." 

Even that is clumsy but you know what I mean.

It is unclear whether voluntary voting would bring nore lenient treatment of boat arrivals. Those US states that border Mexico have taken some fairly harsh measures to prevent Mexicans from border-hopping.