Independent MP to push for lowering of Australian voting age

16 makes sense to me. In some states, like SA, it is the minimum age at which you can choose to begin transitioning into the broader adult society. If someone is driving on the same roads as me, working the same hours as me and paying the same tax as me then they should definitely have the right to vote like me too. I don't think the argument needs to get any more complex or philosophical than this, it's just obviously a fair and rational change to make.
- 100% agree. We shouldn't be gate keeping this away from humans that in every other way we deem them an adult.

I was gonna say that it felt fair that if you're working, and getting taxed, that you should have a voice.
Then I did a search for Australia minimum working age and woooof. What a shitshow that is in all the states & territories....

Let's push for a voting age cap.
- I disagree. Many older people are more conservative. However, they have a right to their views. We shouldn't disenfranchise anyone.
  
  The argument isn't that they shouldn't vote because they're conservative. It's that they shouldn't vote because they literally won't experience the long term consequences of their decisions.
  My personal preference is to allow 16 year olds to vote without creating a maximum voting age, but if in some weird world the only way to allow 16 year olds to vote was to ban those over 80 from voting, I would support that in a heartbeat.
  
  Teenagers are quite literally disenfranchised.
- Make it non-compulsory for over-65's.
  Although that would 100% give license to the LNP to make it non-compulsory for everyone, and our compulsory voting system is what makes us immune to populist demagogues (that and our country not crumbling before our very eyes).
- Eligible to vote at 16.
  Mandatory at 18.
  Votes are then weighted based on age:
  Your vote is worth 100% until 20, then decreases 5% at every birthday ending in 0.
  The older you get, the less you’re exposed to policy decisions made at the time.
  There should also be strict term limits for, and mandatory exclusion and retirement from, elected positions. You can still hold advisory roles, but you shouldn’t be making decisions that affect a population when you’re in the upper 20% band of life expectancy.
  
  I agree with weighted voting, but not based on age. I really think your vote should come with a questionnaire that covers current issues and policies. If your answers show you have no clue what's going on, your vote means less.

Daily reminder for what this independent stands for. She is a big L Liberal who just happens to believe in climate change and that queer people exist.

https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/kooyong/monique_ryan

[Edit: I reckon what I wrote below here was probably a bit extreme. I still don't like Monique Ryan, but yeah, she is at least sane when it comes to climate and identity.

I still think it's fair to post this criticism under every single thing she says. But I will concede that her being a wanker doesn't necessarily mean giving 16 year olds the vote is culture war.

I don't take back anything about her being shit. If you're voting against criminalising wage theft, you are a shit person.

This was my knee-jerk reaction:]

To me, this is more culture war bullshit that right-wingers love to distract us with.

The voting age is perfectly fine where it is and is in line with practically all other age restrictions.

She voted against criminalising wage theft. Teals are not not-shit candidates, despite what The Juice Media might be peddling.

I don't think suggesting younger teenagers be allowed to vote is "culture war bullshit". It certainly wouldn't do her any favours considering that young people tend to overwhelmingly vote for left parties.
- This is fair, my language is perhaps a little strong. Still a distraction in my opinion.
  Teenagers are in school, and many are very knowledgeable and engaged.
  But I don't really think there is much need to change the voting age
I just don't see why any of this is relevant here. Someone can be wrong in one area and right in another. They can even be wrong in most areas and right in this one area. You are the one bringing "culture war bullshit" to "distract us" from the conversation at hand here. Discuss the question on its merits, or don't discuss it at all, IMO. Don't distract by attacking the person who happens to be the messenger in this specific case.
- This is fair. And I'm sorry for how I responded because of my strong dislike for her.
  I should have just left the reminder that she's anti-worker as an off-topic aside.
  The rest of it, as you rightly point out, is not my best work.
To me, this is more culture war bullshit that right-wingers love to distract us with.
Lowering the voting age is culture war bullshit?
Guess we're making the term culture war meaningless now
- Yeah. I'm gonna do something rare on the internet: you're right to call me out on this.
  I let my dislike for a class enemy get the better of me in the way I expressed myself. Instead of commenting on the topic of voter age.
  She's still a wanker for being against wage theft criminalisation. I'll stand by that.

Daily reminder for what this independent stands for. She is a big L Liberal who just happens to believe in climate change and that queer people exist.

I'm not sure I can agree - using your own source, here are the people which her votes most closely aligned with, in descending order:

Agreement	Name	Party / Electorate
97%	Zoe Daniel	Independent Representative for Goldstein
94%	Kylea Tink	Independent Representative for North Sydney
94%	Sophie Scamps	Independent Representative for Mackellar
92%	Zali Steggall	Independent Representative for Warringah
92%	Allegra Spender	Independent Representative for Wentworth
92%	Kate Chaney	Independent Representative for Curtin
91%	Helen Haines	Independent Representative for Indi
81%	Andrew Wilkie	Independent Representative for Clark
79%	Max Chandler-Mather	Australian Greens Representative for Griffith
77%	Dai Le	Independent Representative for Fowler
77%	Elizabeth Watson-Brown	Australian Greens Representative for Ryan
76%	Stephen Bates	Australian Greens Representative for Brisbane
75%	Adam Bandt	Australian Greens Representative for Melbourne

Slightly below that are 95% of current/former ALP members ranging from 62% to 42% in one almost-contiguous block, with 95% of current/former LNP members below that at 40% to 18% in another almost-contiguous block. If her voting record was just LNP + [climate change / queer people existing] then these numbers don't make sense.

There look to be (based on this source) several other policy areas that aren't in the bucket of [climate change / queer people existing] where she's voted progressively. I don't think judging based on a single policy is the right way to accurately classify political leanings here.

edit: softened language slightly because I was just broody about something unrelated to this thread when I first replied

On social and environmental issues only. Which is nice, but she's as anti-worker as the moderate Liberals are.

I'm inclined to support 18 as the age of full legal responsibility in society, which is why I favour moving the voting age to 17.
In Australia, adults in prison who are expected to be released during the upcoming electoral term are allowed to vote, as they will return to society during that term. I think a similar principle should apply to 17-year-olds: they will be 18 for the majority of the term being voted on and should have a say in the government that will represent them when they are an adult.
The average 17-year-old is about 17.5 years old at any point in the year. This means that, on average, they miss out on roughly 2.5 to 3 years of democratic representation if they cannot vote in the election preceding their 18th birthday. While age thresholds are somewhat arbitrary, they are necessary for consistency in law in balancing different rates of maturity uniformly. And although many 16-year-olds may be as intellectually capable as adults, the difference in maturity and development year-on-year at these younger ages are still significant.
I believe the case for including 17-year-olds is much stronger than for 16-year-olds. The average 17-year-old misses out on about 30 months of representation, compared to around 18 months for the average 16-year-old. A meaningful difference.
TL;DR: For these reasons, I support allowing 17-year-olds to vote, on behalf of their adult selves, for the government that will represent them for most of the term, once they turn 18.
- Interesting way of thinking about the issue even if I'm inclined to support lowering the age to 16. I wonder what all the 16 and 17 year olds think.

These kids will need to be driven to the voting booth by their parents, and if the parents know and disapprove of the child's political views then that'll give the more controlling parents effectively more than one vote.
- Influx of teenage polling booth volunteers handing out how-to-votes.