news, federal-politics

While most school students are taught about Australian democracy, few schools have classrooms where you can look out the window and see Parliament House. The students of Canberra Girls Grammar School have long been in the shadow of parliament, as furious debate plays out just down the road. But as to whether people over the age of 16 should decide who should sit in Australia's houses of parliament, opinion is divided. Canberra Girls Grammar year 11 student Elisabeth Abhayaratna thinks the voting age should be lowered. Year 12 student Tara Dabrowski disagrees. Year 11 student Shriya Bellamkonda-Vaka can see both sides of the argument, but feels the cons outweigh the pros. While teenagers’ views differ, a Senate inquiry is discussing whether 16 and 17 year olds should have their say in elections and referendums. The inquiry, headed by Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, is the latest attempt to extend the vote to an estimated 600,000 young Australians, many of whom feel disenfranchised with the current state of politics. "I think 16 and 17 year olds do have the capacity to be informed voters and should be able to vote because they are also impacted by government policies," Elisabeth said. Tara follows politics with interest, but acknowledges that’s not always the case among her peers. "I believe 16 and 17 year olds are still mostly uninformed in politics and they should be given a longer period of time to sufficiently get involved and motivated to participate in politics," she said. "At 18, a majority of people have jobs and they'll understand what it means to go to work most days and they'll understand how at uni you have to think about financial things, whereas a majority of 16 and 17 year olds are living in sheltered households with parents helping them through." Shriya said: "I think adding the extra responsibility and duty of voting might lead them to make hasty decision rather than informed decisions and I think that could be pretty dangerous.” Australia's voting age has been lowered once before, when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam dropped the minimum age from 21 to 18 in 1973. While there was a groundswell of support for that move 45 years ago, a similar change in public opinion hasn't taken place in regards to lowering it further. The Australian Election Study, a survey of voters' attitudes and habits after every Australian election since 1987, found in 2016 just 11 per cent of those surveyed thought the voting age should either definitely or probably be lowered to 16. However, that figure has slightly increased from the 2010 study, which saw 6.1 per cent of voters call for a lowering of the voting age. "Indeed, if anything, Australian public opinion is more emphatically opposed to lowering the age than is found elsewhere," a 2013 Australian Electoral Commission report found. If the proposal put forward at the senate inquiry does become a reality, 16 year olds would be able to opt in. It's an idea that Canberra College year 11 student Rosemary Irvine supports. "With all the big decisions happening around the world, we should have the right to express ourselves," Rosemary said. "I think some people feel that they don't know enough about it [when they're 16 and 17] but they should have the choice to be able to vote until they're 18." While fellow Canberra College student Ruby Zandona, 17, can understand why her peers would want to vote in elections, she said many weren't ready for the responsibility. "I feel personally politically aware, but I do think that because I'm still living with my parents, I'm still at school, I don't have a full-time job. There's so many factors and so many things I don't understand because I'm not independent," Ruby said. "The type of teenagers that would vote would possibly be a small group and that group would be very outspoken." At St Edmund's College, year 12 student Matt Winchester said while some students might be politically aware, voting should be optional if the age was lowered. "The vast majority of students while they're 16 and 17 are focusing on schooling and their social and sporting lives," he said. "Some would be for it, but many wouldn't be mature enough." Fellow year 12 student Zane Hogan said even if 16 year olds were allowed to vote, not much would change in federal politics. Noah Wright, 17, said most people are able to form stronger political beliefs once they leave school. He said classes should be offered to 16 and 17 year olds in schools about issues to do with voting. "It takes until you go into the real world to get an understanding," Noah said. While the senate inquiry represents one of the largest pushes to lower the voting age, the idea of having 16 year olds head to the ballot box is a recurring topic. A national youth affairs conference debated the idea in 1994, pressuring then-Prime Minister Paul Keating to act. At the conference, Young Liberals member - now North Sydney MP - Trent Zimmerman said "youth today did not believe politics applied to them" when asked why the age should be lowered. Among the other attendees was Natasha Stott-Despoja, who would go on to be a senator for the now defunct Australian Democrats. "It is no wonder that young people feel alienated and discriminated against with this sort of trivialism happening in federal politics," she said. In 2015, the Victorian Youth Affairs Council called on the federal government to lower the voting age, with the Australian Democrats also saying they would introduce a bill into NSW parliament if elected to the upper house at the state election that year. State parliaments have toyed with the idea: South Australia in 2001, Queensland in 2003 and again in 2008, and Tasmania, with its state Greens party putting forward a motion in 2006 and 2013. A report was tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly recommending the voting age be lowered in 2007, however a committee said the proposal should not be supported. Federal Labor has also brought up the idea. It was one of the key recommendations from former-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2020 Summit, held in 2008. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten called for the minimum voting age to be lowered in 2015 during a NSW Young Labor conference. Despite many false starts and failed attempts, Australian youth organisations believe now is the time to allow 16 year olds to have their say. Liam Jones from the ACT Youth Advisory Committee was watching from the public gallery when voting age legislation was introduced to Parliament. He said there was a broad consensus from young people that they should be able to have a say. "There's a degree of cynicism of the political process, so I think the voice of young people, in my experience, are very optimistic, and they have a lot to contribute to the discourse," Mr Jones said. "Young people have a lot to offer." There hasn't been a standalone Youth Minister since 2013 after prime minister Tony Abbott scrapped the portfolio, merging it under the Department of Education. Mr Jones said many young people feel ignored by Federal Parliament. "I wouldn't say issues are being neglected, but I would say that if 16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote, there might be some issues that would come to the front," he said. It's a sentiment shared by YWCA chief executive Michelle Phillips. "If 16 and 17 year olds were able to vote, then the major political parties would take notice of young people on the issue," Ms Phillips said. "Young people deserve the right to benefit from better policies and putting young people first." Australian Youth Affairs Coalition chair Katy Acheson said 16 year olds had many responsibilities in life that adults also have and voting should also be added to the list. "Sixteen year olds can drive and work, they pay taxes, they make choices about medicine and can be citizens of a country, and they're already actively involved in building Australia, so why not give them the right to vote?" Ms Acheson said. "The earlier people are involved in the electoral process, the more consistently they'll stay involved in it in the long term, and we really want our country that has its population involved in that process." While Australia debates the issue, 16 year olds have already had their say in elections in countries including Scotland, Austria, Germany and Brazil. "This generation is more informed than any generation before and have very strong opinions about political issues," Ms Acheson said. When it comes to issues 16 and 17 year olds think federal politicians should tackle, mental health and the treatment of refugees are among the biggest concerns. Ruby is concerned about equal rights for the LGBTIQ+ community. Tara is worried young people only see short-term solutions, and wouldn't take into account the country's debt or taxes. Matt said the connection between mental health and social media should be looked into. Shriya said access to mental health services should be high on the list of priorities for politicians. While not all students may not want to step forward to the ballot box at the next election, many just want their voices heard by those in power. "Politicians might say they care a lot for the youth, and things like that, but pleasing us is not high on their priorities," Ruby said.

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