For all young Australians who are neither certified as insane nor serving prison sentences of a year or more, a solemn public duty follows hot on the heels of the excitement of their twenty-first birthday. They must register as voters. Having done so, they cannot, as can some American or English adults if they so wish, then forget all about it—voting is compulsory in Australia. Failure to vote without a 'true, valid, and sufficient reason' can result in a fine for an Australian citizen. Australians must vote frequently, too, for in proportion to its size, Australia is a much-governed country. For its ten million persons it has seven parliaments—one for each of six states and one commonwealth, or federal, parliament with representatives from all states. Every adult, unless he lives in one of the two territories that do not have state status, must do his share in electing both state and federal representatives. Whats more, with only one exception, these parliaments have two houses each and comprise among them 701 members. This may seem a great many politicians to govern Australias relatively small population of ten million especially when one considers that 630 members of Britains House of Commons govern forty million people. But just as government in the United States and England developed gradually as the result of events in those two countries, so the Australian system has developed in response to the needs of the nation. What follows an Australians twenty-first birthday?