ELECTORAL (VOTING AGE) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 5 April 2012.)

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon) (11:28): The bill seeks to provide 16 and 17 year olds with the right to vote in state and local government elections, and it proposes amendments to the Electoral Act, the Local Government (Elections) Act and the Juries Act. I presume the member for Fisher wants optional voting for 16 and 17 year olds?

The Hon. R.B. Such: Yes.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: So the rest of us would be compelled to attend—

The Hon. R.B. Such: No, no—optional enrolment.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Optional enrolment—so, the rest of us, 18 and over, if we are Australian citizens living in South Australia, are compelled to enrol to vote but it is optional for 16 and 17 year olds to enrol to vote. The first thing that strikes us is that that is the end of the joint electoral roll between the Australian Electoral Commission and the South Australian Electoral Commission. The majority of countries around the world have a minimum voting age of 18. Countries that have the most in common with Australia, including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, all have a minimum voting age of 18. Of course, that changed in my lifetime, in about—

Ms Chapman: Is it a conscience vote for your side?

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: No, it isn't. In 1971, I think it was, the voting age was dropped from 21 to 18. The impetus of that, of course, was that voteless 18, 19 and 20 year olds were being conscripted to serve in the Australian armed forces in Vietnam. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.