We are trying to change the law to enable people who are sixteen and seventeen to vote in the Australian electoral process. We believe that Australian people aged sixteen and seventeen should be able to take part in our Australian democracy because:
. they can be charged with criminal offenses with adult consequences
. there are no restrictions on job hours at sixteen
. You can learn how to drive a car
.and they can pay taxes
We put all these responsibilities on sixteen-year-olds and seventeen-year-olds but yet still do not let them vote.
Teenagers have unique views on issues like education and climate change. Their participation in the electoral process ensures that their voices are heard and considered in decisions that directly affect them.
Currently the law states that you must be eighteen to vote in elections and by-elections. We propose that the age limit is lowered to sixteen.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your positive response and the advancement of our democracy.
28 Comments
As a citizen of Malta, I am lucky enough to see voting at 16 implemented in all elections. Paired with the right civic education in schools and other educational institutions, it does empower us young people and get us more involved in politics, which after all effects us just as much as those over 18.
If you can be held criminally liable at 16 and society expects you to have a well informed view of right and wrong and consequences of action, you can surely be given the trust to inform yourself of political options and vote.
If you can be made to pay taxes, you should be able to have a say in where those taxes go. Youth issues and intergenerational inequality are dramatically underrepresented in our democratic dialog and this would be a small step towards rebalancing that. People who argue that "young people are too ill-informed to vote" should spend an afternoon having coffee with the median voter in their electorate :)
I firmly believe this would lead to better policies in regard to children and young people. Participation and representation matter.
Reducing the voting age to 16 empowers young people to take direct action and actively utilise their voices in shaping societal decisions, especially so when they are being acutely and disproportionately affected by issues. By lowering the voting age, we acknowledge the maturity and capacity of adolescents to contribute meaningfully to democratic processes.
This is amazing how young people are shown to madder
This is so great, we saw the poster on our evening walk! Well done!
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We are trying to change the law to enable people who are sixteen and seventeen to vote in the Australian electoral process. We believe that Australian people aged sixteen and seventeen should be able to take part in our Australian democracy because:
. they can be charged with criminal offenses with adult consequences
. there are no restrictions on job hours at sixteen
. You can learn how to drive a car
.and they can pay taxes
We put all these responsibilities on sixteen-year-olds and seventeen-year-olds but yet still do not let them vote.
Teenagers have unique views on issues like education and climate change. Their participation in the electoral process ensures that their voices are heard and considered in decisions that directly affect them.
Currently the law states that you must be eighteen to vote in elections and by-elections. We propose that the age limit is lowered to sixteen.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your positive response and the advancement of our democracy.
28 Comments
With some Australian states having laws to jail 10 year old children I believe it’s important for young Australians to have more to say about how the country is run.
As a citizen of Malta, I am lucky enough to see voting at 16 implemented in all elections. Paired with the right civic education in schools and other educational institutions, it does empower us young people and get us more involved in politics, which after all effects us just as much as those over 18.
If you can be held criminally liable at 16 and society expects you to have a well informed view of right and wrong and consequences of action, you can surely be given the trust to inform yourself of political options and vote.
If you can be made to pay taxes, you should be able to have a say in where those taxes go. Youth issues and intergenerational inequality are dramatically underrepresented in our democratic dialog and this would be a small step towards rebalancing that. People who argue that "young people are too ill-informed to vote" should spend an afternoon having coffee with the median voter in their electorate :)
I firmly believe this would lead to better policies in regard to children and young people. Participation and representation matter.
Reducing the voting age to 16 empowers young people to take direct action and actively utilise their voices in shaping societal decisions, especially so when they are being acutely and disproportionately affected by issues. By lowering the voting age, we acknowledge the maturity and capacity of adolescents to contribute meaningfully to democratic processes.
This is amazing how young people are shown to madder
This is so great, we saw the poster on our evening walk! Well done!
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With some Australian states having laws to jail 10 year old children I believe it’s important for young Australians to have more to say about how the country is run.