Shadow minister for youth Angie Bell said Australia’s education system had a “serious gap” when it came to civics and citizenship.
“The latest data showed that fewer than three in 10 students in year 10 meet the proficiency standard in civics and citizenship,” she said in a statement.
But Zhao argued an uninformed 17-year-old would probably become an uninformed 18-year-old.
The office of Minister for Youth Jess Walsh did not respond to a request for comment.
In the UK, Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, which is leading the polls ahead of Starmer’s Labour, has opposed lowering the voting age, saying young people had a left-wing bias.
“Giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote is an attempt to rig the political system,” Farage said. But he projected confidence that his party would get a significant share of their votes. “If this goes ahead, Labour could be in for a shock,” he posted on X.
Research by economic research institute e61 earlier this year showed young women in Australia remain the most progressive cohort, but found Gen Z men had more traditional views about gender roles than their Gen Y and Gen X counterparts.
Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, arrive at a polling station to cast their vote in London at last year’s election.Credit: AP
Most countries have a voting age of 18, though Germany, Belgium, Austria and Malta shifted to 16 in last year’s European Parliament elections.
Past pushes to lower the age to 16 in Australia have been unsuccessful, though the Whitlam government lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 to keep in line with international norms in 1973.
Steele-John said he would reintroduce a private members bill from 2023 – a largely symbolic gesture that did not have the support of the major parties – this term, which would make it compulsory for 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer took the voting age policy to last year’s election, and the parliamentary approval still required for the legislative change is likely to pass.
“They’re old enough to go out to work, they’re old enough to pay taxes,” Starmer said on Thursday (UK time).
A dog sits outside a polling station in London during the last UK election, in which 48 million people were eligible to cast a ballot. There are about 1.6 million people aged 16 and 17.Credit: AP
Despite Starmer’s large electoral win last year, his popularity has fallen and his party sits second in most opinion polls behind Farage’s Reform.
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Britain’s Conservative Party – the second largest in parliament, which has fallen further behind rivals since losing power last year – said the proposal was inconsistent, with 16-year-olds due to be able to vote but not allowed to “buy a lottery ticket, consume alcohol, marry, or go to war”.
Research from other countries and reviewed in a House of Commons library paper showed lowering the voting age had no impact on election outcomes.
With Reuters
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