18 is the legal drinking/gambling age in Australia and most country's except for the USA, where it is still believed 20 year olds can be deterred from booze by shoddy ID laws.
The age every child should move out of home (unless already gone) and go to work/university.
"I turned 18 yesterday and went to the bar I have been drinking at for 2 years and showed them my ID. They congratulated me for successfully tricking them. I am already addicted to betting on dogs/horses/poker mahines."
The age when you get to DO WHAT YOU WANT. It can kind of suck because you have a lot more responsibilites and shit, but as long as you arent livng with your parents they can't choose your friends, give you a curfew or say shit about the people you date. Therefore if you missed out on partying it up when you were a young teenager because of your parents strict rules now is the time to do so.