Australian Young Liberals

Lowering the voting to age to 16 is not the solution to increasing youth engagement in the political process.

“In the Young Liberals we are addressing the issue of young people's involvement in politics by actively engaging them where they are at: universities, schools and in the work place. But beyond what we can do in our organisation, we need to take a non-partisan approach to the issue of political disconnect that encourages a greater level of civic engagement and increases exposure to democratic practices and values,” Young Liberal President Rachel Fry said.

“Any policy proposal must be examined in the context of what it sets out to achieve, and in this instance, we do not believe that lowering the voting age will achieve the goal of greater participation in society.

“Young people under the age of 16 are not legally able to participate in a range of activities and require parental permission for many others. Eighteen is the age at which society deems a young person fit to make important decisions for themselves. Voting need not be any different.

“The Australian Young Liberals welcome any moves to encourage greater involvement in civic life by young people, however, we don’t believe that lowering the voting age is the appropriate means through which this can be achieved.”

“Like most of Labor’s policy thought-bubbles, this proposal is all about politics and not about good policy,” Miss Fry said.