Push to Lower Voting Age !

Bill Shorten is a desperate political leader.  Since Malcolm Turnbull became Australia's prime minister his polling numbers have fallen to disastrous levels.  There are mutterings in the party room and he needs to pull a rabbit out of a hat if he is to survive as party leader.   He is now toying with the idea of reducing the voting age - from the present eighteen - to those who have attained their sixteenth birthday.

Australia was one of the first world countries to give women the vote and in 1924 it went against the international tide when it legislated to force all eligible citizens to cast a vote - or suffer a financial penalty.   At that time twenty-one was considered the age of maturity, despite those below that age level being inducted into the armed services and fighting in both the first and second world wars.

The winds of change blew strongly in the 1960's when Australia became involved in the Vietnam war.  It seemed unfair that conscription demanded that young men who had attained their eighteenth birthday could be ordered to serve in the army and be sent to fight a foreign war, but were denied the vote to select the parliament which would create the law that made that possible.   In 1973 the Australian voting age was reduced to eighteen !

That lowered age of maturity automatically applied to other criteria - and one of those was the right to drink alcohol.  The police could no longer chase those under twenty-one out of the pubs and now had to concentrate on keeping alcohol out of the hands of those under eighteen, resulting in the losing battles so evident today.   If the voting age is lowered to sixteen, will the drinking age move in tandem ?

No doubt such a proposal will raise conjecture.  Many people will note that the recent referendum on Scottish independence allowed sixteen year olds to have a say on whether their country should remain a member of the United Kingdom and sixteen is the legal voting age in Austria, Germany, Brazil, East Timor, Indonesia and many other countries.

Of course, as Opposition leader Bill Shorten can only propose a bill to lower the voting age.  That decision will be made by the government that has the numbers to pass legislation and Shorten would hope that it finds favour with Australia's sixteen year olds and induces them to swing their support behind him and his party.

That may be a doubtful assumption.   Eighteen year olds are not known for their enthusiasm in casting a vote and sixteen year olds may resent being forced to front up on election days and cast a vote or face a fine.   Generally, Labor could expect the broad mass of sixteen year olds to pivot in it's favour but that would be unlikely to provide the winning factor given the present polling numbers.

At best, Shorten is seeking a distraction.  Altering the voting age will certainly get the attention of the wider public.  It will be suggested as widening the embrace of democracy by giving the vote to those who presently have no say in the decisions made on their behalf, but we would do well to remember that along with that power comes a host of other powers, including the right to sign a valid contract - and even to marry.   Along with access to alcohol, we open a huge array of legalities that will enter the realm of young people who may lack the maturity to use those decisions wisely.

That is a Pandora's box that needs to be approached with caution !