WTF: Push to give 16-year-olds the vote in federal elections/ The Oz
The idea clearly reeks of Rudd looking for extra votes for the ALP given that under 18’s would be more likely to vote in that direction. But having said that I’m not dead against the idea: “young” people should have a say to some degree.
But if we’re going to give 16 year olds the right to vote, why not take it further. Reduce the legal age for alcohol and tobacco to 16 (note that it’s not that long ago that the legal smoking age was 16.) Why not give 16 year olds the right to obtain a full drivers license as well?
If we’re not, why offer the right to vote. If you’re not old enough to legally take responsibility of a car or old enough to buy alcohol, why would you be old enough to vote? Voting is an adult responsibility that doesn’t exist in a vacuum: as a society we’ve decided that 18 is the magic “adult” number for many things. It would only be fair then that if we were to redefine that age to 16 for voting, we should do it with the others as well.
The problem with this whole thing is assuming that political knowledge has anything to do with age.
At 16 I was more politically aware than a lot of 40 year olds I knew.
Why should the ability to vote be based on age? What's age really got to do with it?
Voting should be:
a. non-compulsory; and
b. based on a short political basics test – if you don't sit the test or if you don't pass the test, you don't earn the right to vote.
Without supporting this idea, I have to ask the question: If they're old enough to work and pay taxes, why shouldn't they get to vote?
Drinking (and smoking) as a teenager can do you harm because your brain and body are still growing, so it can't really be put in the same league as voting — which presumably, doesn't have any health side effects. As for driving, South Australia lets teens drive alone at 16 and in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia it's 18. Oh, and in New Zealand it's 15.
From the age at which you can work full-time and pay taxes, you should be able to vote.
@Nick “If they're old enough to work and pay taxes, why shouldn't they get to vote?”
because allowing them to work is just enabling them to do some simple stuff if they need some money. You don't need a real-world experience or maturity for working in retail. You do need it to vote.
Certainly agree with you on point a.
Health has nothing to do with responsibility though. If you're not responsible enough to buy beer, why is voting different? Indeed, the effect of a vote could be far more detrimental to your health and well being 😉
The test might be a good idea but it'd only mean more costs in the name of what? Kids voting? That'd only mean that politicians would have another target group so they'd come up with silly promises that might appeal to the kids instead of adults.
As the mother of three teens, I can think of nothing scarier than giving 16 year olds the right to vote. However, I can say the same thing about some of the adults I encounter on a daily basis. I love Cosgrove's idea of a short political basics test. That would weed out all those who pay absolutely no attention but insist on having a vote as to who would be in charge of running the govt.
As the mother of three teens, I can think of nothing scarier than giving 16 year olds the right to vote. However, I can say the same thing about some of the adults I encounter on a daily basis. I love Cosgrove's idea of a short political basics test. That would weed out all those who pay absolutely no attention but insist on having a vote as to who would be in charge of running the govt.
As the mother of three teens, I can think of nothing scarier than giving 16 year olds the right to vote. However, I can say the same thing about some of the adults I encounter on a daily basis. I love Cosgrove's idea of a short political basics test. That would weed out all those who pay absolutely no attention but insist on having a vote as to who would be in charge of running the govt.