[turbojet1321]

You have to remember, Australia as a nation is young, and has an interesting history - forced migration of convicts, high levels of immigration (IIRC 25% of the population are 1st or 2nd generation immigrants), and of course the difficulty of dealing with colonial treatment of the Aboriginal population. "No culture" is patently absurd; everywhere with people has a culture.

And on mandatory voting: yes, in one way, that's a curtailment of freedom, but in another way, it's enshrining freedom.