Page 3650 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 November 2022
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Party who now, after a supreme court decision, are more than happy to join us in the streets rallying for youth engagement in our democracy and for youth empowerment in the vote. That is very exciting. I applaud the New Zealand Supreme Court. I applaud the New Zealand government and the New Zealand Labour Party for their leadership. It is worth noting though that New Zealand will not be alone. New Zealand will be joining the ranks of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Nicaragua and Scotland, all of whom have enfranchised 16- and 17-year-olds in the vote in their countries.
Of course what makes this so exciting, Mr Deputy Speaker, is that we here in the ACT Legislative Assembly have an opportunity to do exactly the same thing.
My ACT Greens colleague Mr Braddock and I have co-sponsored legislation that is before this Assembly as we speak to enfranchise 16- and 17-year-olds in the vote here in the ACT. Not only because of our strong values, guided by our political movement to enfranchise young people in the decision-making processes that impact on them but also because we have been listening earnestly to the voices of young people who have been lobbying for this kind of representation and inclusion in the vote for some time.
It is close to a year since Mr Braddock and I first tabled the bill and we have been out in the community talking to people about the bill, talking to people of what it means to improve and strengthen democracy by including more decision makers and holding all of us accountable to an even broader amount of the electorate. One of the things I find quite interesting is that I am pointed to Scotland regularly. The reason I am pointed to Scotland is there was a survey in Scotland prior to their expanding voting rights that found two-thirds of their population opposed expanding voting rights.
Two-thirds opposed, but they opened up the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds in Scotland and according to a report that came out afterwards:
What ultimately led to a huge increase in public support was if we actually lowered the voting age. In Scotland, in 2011, over two-thirds of people opposed lowering the voting age to 16. But following the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, when the voting age was first lowered to 16, support massively grew to over 50 per cent as people saw with their own two eyes the positive impact of enfranchising young people. This public support grew even further to over 60 per cent a year later.
Now we Greens have a habit of being unpopular right up until we are popular. It is never easy to say the evidence based progressive position before the majority have come on board. Such is our lot in life in Australia’s political system, Mr Deputy Speaker. But we are proud to do it. I am proud to see that Scotland has gone through a not too dissimilar journey. I look forward to future opportunities in this place to debate and hopefully form a consensus view that every member of this Assembly is excited about holding themselves to account to 16- and 17-year-old Canberrans at the next election, that no one in here is afraid to put their policy positions or their record of votes and activism in this place up to 16- and 17-year-olds. I am sure that each and every one of you will be proud to present a policy platform that appeals to young Canberrans at the next election. Because our democracy is stronger, just like
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