An interest in politics is great, but only adults should be allowed to vote

When I was 16, Brian Henderson read the news, the Herald was a broadsheet and the best gaming computer was the Amiga 500.

Today’s young people have an entire universe of information at their fingertips, can interact with each other across the globe in real time and are arguably more aware of social and political issues than my generation was at 16.

Australia’s voting age should remain at 18 years of age, especially because voting is compulsory.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

It’s for this reason that some argue Australia should follow the UK in reducing the voting age to 16. It’s estimated that the move will result in 1.6 million young people being allowed to cast a ballot for the first time at the next UK election.

Following last week’s announcement by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Australia’s Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek responded, “I think there’s a lot of 16-year-olds out there who take a very keen interest in politics.” Not a ringing endorsement, but neither was it a rejection of the idea.

There was a much stronger response from the independent member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, who told the media that she would prioritise introducing a bill to parliament calling for a lowering of Australia’s minimum voting age from 18 to 16.

Independent MP Monique Ryan will introduce a bill to lower the voting age to 16.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Interviewed on ABC NewsRadio, she said: “Around the world, there is a global move to lower the voting age. The fact is in democracies we see that fewer and fewer young people feel they are actively engaged and supported by government, and they’re turning away from politics, and what we want to do is bring them back.”

However, an interest in politics and socio-economic issues does not directly translate into the necessity for enfranchisement of young people considered “minors” in every other regulatory context.

To that end, Australia has the right balance relative to the US and the UK, where age limits vary and in some cases seem nonsensical.

In Australia, at the age of 18, you can drink alcohol, gamble, join emergency services such as the police and paramedics and join the armed forces.

By comparison, in many states of the US, you can obtain your full driver’s licence at 16. The minimum age to be tried as an adult in a court is 18, which is also the minimum age to be trained to drive an M1 Abrams tank or fire an M4 carbine in the US military.

At the same time, the minimum age to gamble in most US states is 21, as is the minimum age to drink alcohol.

In the UK, the minimum age to obtain a full driver’s licence is 17, the minimum age to drink alcohol is 18 and your assessment for suitability to join the UK Army Foundation can begin at 15 years and nine months.

Standardising the minimum age at 18 to be considered an “adult” for everything from drinking to gambling has served as an efficient standard for Australia for decades.

The voting age in Australia should also remain at 18 years, especially considering that voting in this country is compulsory. Compulsory voting means that casting a ballot in this country is a responsibility as much as it is a democratic right.

At the age of 16, to be ineligible to participate in activities or occupations where the minimum age is 18, and yet to be able to vote for policies that can directly impact the lives of those engaged in these activities, is democratically incongruous.

A 16-year-old who is too young to join the ADF should not have the responsibility to vote for policies that directly impact those who are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in service of their nation in military conflicts.

Nor should those under 18 have the responsibility to vote in a way that has a direct impact on those who serve our community as frontline workers, such as police, nurses and paramedics, when they themselves are unable to apply to join these occupations.

There are numerous ways young people under the age of 18 can participate in our democracy and have demonstrated this by becoming increasingly involved in political campaigning and activism.

However, unless politicians are willing to lower the qualifying age in critical areas of regulation and service – and indeed, the age at which a person can stand for election to parliament – then the responsibility to vote on such issues should remain at the same level as the minimum age of participation.

Brad Emery is a freelance writer and former staffer in the Howard government