Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for the Public Service
NADIA MITSOPOULOS, HOST: The Make it 16 campaign has been launched in Canberra today, which is why we're talking about this today. And I know this is an issue that crops up from time to time. Now, I'm wondering what politicians think about this, because of course, they'd be directly affected by this change. Would they vote for this anyway, in the Parliament? Part of me thinks probably not. But I want to ask Patrick Gorman, who is the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and is, of course, the Member for Perth. Are you a 'yes' or a 'no' on this, Patrick? Good morning.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Nadia. Good morning to your listeners. And good morning to Emma. Look, I don't think that this is the priority that we need right now. Although, I one hundred per cent love the fact that we live in a democracy where, whether or not you're old enough to vote, you can get on the airwaves, you can come to Parliament House, you can get your issue on the agenda. And I think that kind of shows why this probably isn't a necessary change at this time. Because voting is not the only way that you can engage in our democracy. And one of the things that I worry about with these sort of conversations is that it implies that it starts and stops with voting. It's so much more than that. I have young people in my office all the time talking to me about climate change, talking to me about integrity issues. You don't have to have a vote to have a say. And that's what I really want to say to your listeners, particularly your listeners under 18. And particularly to your listeners under 16, who even if this change was to come through, would still not be franchised with a vote. And therefore, just to remind people, there's a whole bunch of other ways to engage in Australia's democracy.
MITSOPOULOS: And yet, Emma says teenagers like her often feel ignored by politicians.
GORMAN: Well, I would respectfully disagree because actually, you know, I spend a lot of time talking, whether it be at schools, talking to Political and Legal studies classes, which tend to be the people like Emma, who are really engaged, there are a range of ways that you can get involved. We actually had my colleague Dr Anne Aly launch, at the Perth Town Hall last week, the consultations that she's doing for the National Youth Consultation, and that's actually targeted at people aged 12 to 25. Recognising there's a range of things over those younger years as you are preparing to become and becoming an adult, where we need to listen more. And I think Anne and the entire Albanese Government have actually shown that we are doing that.
MITSOPOULOS: It's not a crazy idea, though, because there are many countries that actually offer young people the opportunity to vote. Quite a long list, in fact, I think it's Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Malta, Scotland, Wales. New Zealand is going to do it. So is Canada and Germany. So this is gaining momentum across the world.
GORMAN: And I wouldn't say it's a crazy idea. And I fully respect the advocacy of those organisations and individuals who are putting this idea forward. But what we have seen every time this has been put to the Australian Parliament, there's been quite a few Private Members' Bills put on this topic, even though it hasn't been recommended by the parliamentary committees that investigate electoral matters. But what they always come with is some form of weakening compulsory voting. And I think that's a step that we can't take as a democracy. Compulsory voting is what makes sure that the decisions we make here in Canberra are decisions for the whole country, and that we have consulted the whole country in those decisions. If we take away compulsory voting, or have some sort of, you know, 'your first vote's free' idea, which is what the Make it 16 proposal is, that does weaken compulsory voting and we can't go down that path. We've got one of the best electoral systems in the world, it would be a real shame to start weakening it, or weakening compulsory voting.
MITSOPOULOS: Or you give them a compulsory vote, and then you don't weaken it.
GORMAN: And these proposals have been put forward, I mean, that that hasn't been what has been contained in the Private Members' Bills that have come to the Parliament over time. We take our advice from the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. They're doing an inquiry into the 2022 Election at the moment, and I note that some of these ideas have been put to them. So we'll wait to see what their final report is. But I'm also in a democracy as an elected representative. I believe it's my responsibility, if I'm going to do something to be clear about what that is. And if I don't support something such as this proposal, I'm also happy to say to your listeners, those between the ages of 16 and 18, why I don't support it, and I think that's an important part of accountability, too.
MITSOPOULOS: All right. I'm gonna let you get to a caucus meeting. Patrick Gorman, thank you so much for your time. He's the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and the Member for Perth.
