Kevin Meagher, you're wrong.
He argues that ignorance is no longer bliss but standard. I do not challenge him on that. I do however challenge his solution to the lack of engagement in society. He argues that compulsory voting should be put in place, but as Unlock Democracy argued on its twitter, this treats the symptoms but not the cause.
Compulsory voting is used in Australia in a bid to increase turn out. Of course this would increase it, with citizens having little choice, either to vote or face a fine. Meagher seems to have no problem with this. He argues that 'compulsion and duty' is just part of everyday adulthood. I see the opposite; as an adult you are free to make your own choices and suffer the consequences, compulsion is an idea I link closer to childhood, like being told you have to eat your vegetables.
Rather than looking for a quick-fix for low voter turnout, those in charge should be looking at the causes for low turn out and registration, what causes the apathy with the political system which is so clearly present in our modern democratic society. This is something that my research group has been looking into; we highlighted the need to observe who isn't voting, and why, before we could suggest anything to improve the current situation.
I think that compulsory voting will lead to less engagement, as voting is seen as a legal requirement rather than something to have an interest in. It will increase wasted votes and will not accurately represent the views of the people.
To hear everything he had to say, the video is below.