Page 4101 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 December 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
it is in a protest, in a community group, on TikTok or in a conversation with friends—are legitimate, valuable and on an equal footing with those of their fellow citizens.
We look forward to seeing this bill pass and to seeing how it will strengthen our civic education. It will encourage teachers and young people to put learnings about civics into practice. It will establish a habit of voting and political engagement during the formative years, and it will cement civic responsibility as a central part of becoming an adult. I look forward to the innovative ways that voting might be incorporated into the curriculum. I can imagine classrooms practicing voting, classes going to voting booths together, and robust conversations amongst students about who they will vote for.
In saying that, we remind the Assembly once again that political education is not a prerequisite to voting; I think we all know that. Everybody here must have seen some existing adult voters who lack political understanding. But that is not a reason to not let them vote. Under our system of democracy, everybody has the right to vote. Voting is fundamentally about values. A 16-year-old is mature enough to hold values and is well and truly able to express them.
Many other countries have led the way on this. There is plenty of evidence from academics and young people about why this will be a great move for young people and for our democracy. We look forward to seeing a robust political conversation and to continuing our conversations with stakeholders, young people and the community following the tabling of this bill.
We encourage the community, the media and the Assembly to be respectful in those conversations. We encourage everyone to remember that young people are not a homogenous group and that they have a diversity of views. We must avoid generalisation and assumptions, and we must centre our conversations around empowering and amplifying other people’s voices and empathy.
Young people are rising up. They are forging their own path and they are making their voices heard, whether people here like it or not. It is time to formalise that. We really look forward to seeing our 16- and 17-year-olds voting at the next Assembly election. By then, we hope that every party will have rethought their policies and platforms in light of this extension of voting rights. We encourage everyone to think about a world where 16- and 17-year-olds can vote and to think about how different that world will look. Think about how it will change the way our future generations engage with democracy. Think about how it will change the way we create the decisions and the world that they are entering. Think about how it will change the way young people see their own place in our world and in our democracy. Think about how it will change the way we politicians engage with young people.
There is so much to gain here. When we think about this, we see a stronger, vibrant, more diverse democracy in the ACT. I join with my colleagues in the Greens to commend this bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Steel) adjourned to the next sitting.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video