Voting is a key part of the democratic process. It allows all citizens of a certain age to have a say on matters important to them.
Voting in federal elections and referendums is compulsory for every Australian aged 18 and over.
But decisions made by elected governments – especially in areas such as education, health and energy – impact young people too.
After all, people under 18 can leave school, get a job, drive a car and pay taxes. So why not vote?
A is currently looking into the issue. In the meantime, we asked five experts their views. Here’s what they said.
Five out of five experts said yes
If you have a “yes or no” education question you’d like posed to Five Experts, email your suggestion to: [email protected]
Philippa Collin has received funding from a range of government and quasi-government agencies (NHMRC, Australian Research Council, Department for Industry and Innovation, Western Australian Children’s Commissioner, UNICEF) as well as industry (Google, Navitas English) and non-profits (Multicultural Youth Affairs Network NSW and the Foundation for Young Australians). She is a member of the Technology and Well-being Roundtable and the Australian NGO Child Rights Task Force and an expert advisor to the Raising Children Network.
