After listening to well articulated and argued views of a wide range of age groups (including the difference between climate and political activism), I'm now thoroughly convinced that lowering the voting age should be on an opt-in basis, and I'm also aware that there is a strong argument for wider use of civic education in schools.
I'd started my spiel by referring to the issue of lowering voting age to provide greater indigenous political equity (see https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/18/for-some-of-us-voting-is-an-indignity-that-is-a-choice-between-the-lesser-of-racists), and what came out of the debate was ultimately a referral for an investigation of the matter to an indigenous policy committee. I was hoping for some sort of referral, as that results in an output which may lead to debate.
So all up, it was a good meeting.
As a final point, the other local branch I go to (although I can't transfer there as I live outside their official boundaries) seems to be more focused on State political activity (that may be changing), whereas the branch I go to because I can and have transferred my membership there seems to be more focused on National politics and electorates.
In the course of looking for the article cited above, I came across the following, which may be of interest:
- five experts' views on the topic: https://theconversation.com/we-asked-five-experts-should-australia-lower-the-voting-age-to-16-104251;
- an opinion which mentions the global move to lower voting ages: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/lowering-the-voting-age-to-16-would-be-good-for-democracy-20150531-ghdcyq.html;
- an opinion from a conservative, religious affiliated university: https://www.impact.acu.edu.au/community/lowering-the-voting-age;
- past research showing limited community support: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-01/researcher-casts-doubt-on-shortens-call-to-lower-voting-age/6902554.
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