Keep in mind that Australia chose the simple conversion table:
1000 millilitres = 1 litre 1000 litres = 1 kilolitre 1000 kilolitres = 1 megalitre
for measuring volume and capacity.
Interesting! But BIPM recommends not using kilolitres or megalitres (or even millilitres). The litre is just a special name for the cubic decimetre (according to BIPM) and its common multiples already have other names which conform better to SI organization.
1 kilolitre = 1 cubic metre 1 millilitre = 1 cubic centimetre
(Admittedly, 1 megalitre is not just one cubic SI length unit, but it is just 1000 cubic metres. And the cubic metre is the basic and coherent SI volume unit.)
But the main reason to avoid the litre and it's multiples is that the litre is not coherent with the other SI units. (I discussed the importance of coherence in another email some time ago.)
I think it is unfortunate that Australia promotes non-SI units like the kilolitre and megalitre. Everything else in Australia metrication seems to have been done so admirably.
Regards, Bill Hooper Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA ======================== SIMPLIFICATION begins with SI ========================
