Should the voting age in Australia be lowered to 16?

Wed, 2 Aug 2023 19:20:39 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/should-the-voting-age-in-australia-be-lowered-to-16-208095>

"Attempts to lower the voting age in Australia to 16 have been historically
unsuccessful. More recently, the Make It 16 campaign has been advocating for
the enfranchisement of 16 and 17-year-olds, but with no fines for under 18s who
fail to cast their ballots.

Voluntary or not, lowering the voting age will have consequences for how
political behaviour shapes political outcomes, especially for issues that
particularly interest the young, such as climate change, cost of living, mental
health and wellbeing.

Younger people tend to be more progressive in their views. This in turn would
alter the make-up of the Australian electorate at each election or referendum.
The addition of socially progressive voters might well be decisive on a highly
contentious and divisive issue such as the Indigenous Voice to Parliament."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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