Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week my office had the privilege of hosting year 10 student Audrey for work experience, and I would like to share her words on an issue that she is passionate about.

When I was kid and I was told I could vote at eighteen, it felt like a far-off dream, inconsequential and distant. Now that I'm sixteen, eighteen couldn't come soon enough. At sixteen, we are told that we are powerless, that we are not allowed to have a say in who represents us in parliament or in which laws are passed. We are not allowed to vote. Yet sixteen year olds are allowed to work, drive a car, consent to medical procedures, pay taxes and enlist in the defence force. Sixteen and seventeen year olds are active and contributing members of society who deserve a say to help shape the policies that not only impact us now but also in the future.

Our generation is politically active, engaged and motivated to be heard. We are the people who will inherit this country and grapple with the consequences left behind by politicians who we cannot yet vote for. Climate change, the housing crisis, the injustices and inequality faced by our first nations people, we will be forced to pick up the pieces of these challenges and the subsequent costs they will cause us.

Lowering the voting age to sixteen gives our country a more equal and diverse range of opinions and ensures young people feel heard in a world where we are often overlooked and dismissed just because of our age. Lowering the voting age is a pledge to build a society where every voice matters, an opportunity to amplify youth voices and champion a more democratic society, one that truly listens to the concerns of all people.