Government Drags Heels On Voting Age Change

Words by Niamh Vaughan (she/her)

Youth-rights activists are frustrated after senior Labour MP Michael Wood suggested that lowering the voting age would be considered in a referendum. Wood’s comments were met with discontent by Make It 16. The Supreme Court declared the current voting age inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, due to age discrimination, last November. 

The referendum idea abandons the government's initial promise of a bill being brought directly before Parliament. According to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, “Cabinet hasn’t made decisions [...] at this point” on whether a referendum will take place. 

Make It 16 campaigners are disappointed by the rumours of a referendum and the time the government is taking to make changes.“Frankly, we don't know why it's taking so long for the government to guarantee fundamental rights to rangatahi,” a spokesperson for Make It 16 told Salient.

“We don't know why the government would suggest [a referendum], when they know exactly why the rights of a minority cannot be determined through the voice of a majority. Elected representatives need to have the courage to do what is right and empower young people to have a say,” they said.

“National does not support lowering the voting age,” said Paul Goldsmith, National’s Justice spokesperson. “Many other countries have a voting age of 18, and National has seen no compelling case to lower the age”. 

Despite this, Make It 16 still stands strong with its demand. “The government should ^not use a referendum to decide whether a minority should be getting voting rights,” they said.