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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 04 Hansard (Wednesday, 31 March 2004) . . Page.. 1452 ..

I also wonder whether we need to conduct an investigation into the possibility of lowering the voting age in the ACT. The issue of whether it should be 16 has been around for a long time. My party has looked at it, and we rejected it fairly recently. It crops up from time to time. Eighteen is quite a good age. Around that time people are leaving year 12, they have probably just got their licence and they are able to drink. That used to be 21. Eighteen is now accepted as the coming of age. It is the age for national service in countries that still have it. It is often the youngest age used in those types of schemes. It is the time a lot of young people go out into the workforce and off to first-year university or further education in some tertiary institution such as the CIT. It is a landmark age.

There is a lot of evidence around to indicate that 16-year-olds are not all that interested and do not have the maturity that 18-year-olds have. Think of third world countries that use 16-year-olds as kid soldiers. On balance, 16 is too young; 18 is pretty reasonable. Most people accept that. I wonder whether we need to have further investigation into lowering the voting age, but I look forward to hearing what Ms Dundas has to say. It is an important motion by Mr Hargreaves, which we are happy to accept.

MR CORNWELL (4.51): I will speak now because Ms Dundas might want to comment on a few statements that I am about to make. I do not have any problem with the motion either, and I do note the electoral office paper. Mr Hargreaves quite rightly mentioned exercising democratic rights. It could be interpreted, Mr Hargreaves, and I am sure you will not be offended by this, that this motion coming up now with an election in October might be an attempt to encourage the vote.

It is like the bill of rights and other legislation that has been passed in here. It is all very well to have these things; it is quite another matter whether people want to use them. The question I want to address is whether a lot of young people who have not enrolled think it is worth it to do so. Frankly, I do not think a lot of people think very much of politicians, and I cannot say I blame them when I look around and see some of the stupid things that we do: the brawling, the self-centredness, the use of 100 words where 10 would do, the power before principle, the divisiveness we see—and this annoys a great many people—when we should be united to address problems, and the tendency to politicise matters that a lot of other people regard simply as problems that should be solved for society. In other words, we need to lift our game.

It applies in this Assembly as much as in any other parliament in the country, and there is certainly evidence to say that a great many people are extremely disillusioned with politicians.

Mr Wood: I don’t find that.

MR CORNWELL: Don’t you?

Mr Wood: You speak for yourself.

MR CORNWELL: You need to get out a bit more, Mr Wood. You will have the opportunity to—as I do, my friend—after October. But seriously, there is evidence to indicate that many people are disillusioned with politicians, for the reasons I outlined. It

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