Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome this motion moved by my colleague Senator McKim and support the lowering of the voting age to 16. The law of this land is our law. It's the oldest law on the planet. First Nations people in this country are the oldest continuing living culture on Earth. Our society ensured that we have equality—meaning that our young people were just as important as our old people. At the age of 16 we have many responsibilities as First Nations people. We have responsibilities to our siblings. We have responsibilities to our old people. We have responsibilities to our cousins, our brothers and our sisters. And a lot of our people are having babies at 16; I was 17. A lot of our young people are paying taxes. A lot of our young people don't get a say at all.

Victoria has already acknowledged the cultural authority of our young people in its treaty process by including all First Nations people over the age of 16 on the roll. This sets a precedent for the inclusion of our young people in the decisions that impact our people. Young First Nations people are the key to our survival. It's not our future; it's their future. And we must do the right thing by giving them a voice on their journey towards their future. (Time expired)