- This event has passed.
Let’s Talk Lowering the Voting Age
09/05/2022 @ 6:30 pm
Democracy doesn’t have an age limit — so why are the voices of young people left out of our elections? Right now so many politically engaged and impassioned young people are unable to vote simply because of their age, leaving them voiceless and frustrated.
In March, I introduced a Bill to NSW Parliament to empower young people to participate in our democracy by expanding the right to vote in NSW state and local elections to include 16 and 17 year olds.
REGISTER NOW
Countries across the world which have already lowered their voting age to 16 have seen a huge increase in political engagement and political trust amongst young people, which is then carried into adulthood.
Join me to discuss why lowering the voting age to include 16 and 17 year olds is so important. I’ll be joined by Greens candidate for Grayndler Rachel Jacobs, Dr Faith Gordon from ANU and the Interdisciplinary Youth Justice Network, and a fabulous representative from the Young Greens.
Did you know that in NSW 16 year olds are allowed to work, have a bank account, pay taxes, learn to drive, leave school and begin full-time employment, and even be criminally charged as an adult? It’s time we empower young people to exercise their voice in our democracy too.
Register here to learn more about youth empowerment and lowering the voting age.
With the Federal election only 2 weeks away, and School Strike 4 Climate taking to the streets again today fighting for climate action, it is clear that young people in our country want their voices to be heard!
Swift passage of my Bill in NSW Parliament before the state election in March 2023 will give plenty of time for young people to be informed of their right to vote and learn more about the electoral process, preferential voting and the politicians that stand to represent their interests.
Don’t forget to register for the event here at my website!
I’m really looking forward to this discussion. It feels particularly timely, at a moment in history when young people with vital opinions and perspectives are being repeatedly overlooked in policy decisions and risk becoming totally alienated from our politics. Youth are the future of tomorrow, and it’s about time we listen to their voices and give them the right to have a say in our democracy.
Warm regards,
Abigail Boyd
Greens MP and Spokesperson for Young People
About the panelists:
Dr Faith Gordon is an Associate Professor and Deputy Associate Dean of Research at the ANU College of Law. Faith’s research focuses on youth justice, media representations, children’s rights, criminal law, digital technologies, media regulation, young people and politics. Faith’s research has been referred to by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Northern Ireland High Court, the UK Court of Appeal, the Youth Court in Aotearoa New Zealand and the UK Joint Committee on Draft Online Safety Bill — House of Lords. Faith is very passionate about children’s rights and social justice and wants to see change for children and young people. She has been active in the national and international media in discussing children rights, youth justice, online harms and lowering the voting age in Australia.
Rachael Jacobs is a lecturer in Education at Western Sydney University and a former high- school teacher. She is a community artist, working with migrant and refugee communities, and she runs her own intercultural dance school. Rachael is a writer, and has been an occasional columnist in The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Conversation. She’s also appeared on QandA and The Drum. Rachael was a founding member of Teachers for Refugees, and a board member of various arts organisations.