Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

More countries around the world are recognising the importance of providing young people with the right to vote. A few days ago, the Supreme Court of New Zealand ruled that the voting age being set to 18 was discriminatory. I hope that the conversations that are now happening in New Zealand will also renew debate in this country regarding our voting rules.

Young people are informed, thoughtful and, increasingly, politically engaged. Our national curriculum includes comprehensive civics and citizenship education, which all of our young people have completed by year 10. They should also have the right to participate actively in our electoral process. Instead, they are being actively excluded from participating in decisions about their own futures, the outcome of which may not even be seen by some older Australians—only by those young Australians who didn't make them.

The Greens have supported lowering the voting age for many years, with my Senate colleague Jordon Steele-John introducing a bill in 2018. At 16, young people can work, pay taxes, have children and make medical decisions about their bodies. The ability for young people to be charged as adults and be subject to imprisonment in adult facilities demonstrates the disconnect between their responsibilities and the lack of opportunities to vote. Ignoring this suite of responsibilities whilst refusing to allow young people the opportunity to contribute and to participate in the electoral process, actively undermines the rights of young people in this country.

Young people are currently facing a cost-of-living crisis and a rental market that's unaffordable, and they're going to be the ones who are most impacted by the climate crisis. Young people are more than capable of voting on issues that matter to them. They care deeply about these issues and need to be involved in decisions relating to their futures.