Today the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Kieran McAnulty as the new Minister of Local Government.

“We welcome Minister McAnulty to the role and call on him to follow the Review into the Future of Local Government’s recommendation to let 16 and 17 year-olds vote in local elections” says Make It 16 co-director Caeden Tipler (they/them).

“Without a vote young people have to put up with buses we take, roads we drive on, and parks we use with no say in how they are run. Councils make decisions on climate change that will affect us the most that we have no say in. That just isn’t good enough for so-called local democracy.

“Local elections suffer from dire turnout. In the last local elections less than 40% of eligible people voted. There is growing evidence overseas that letting people vote for the first time at 16 or 17 has all positive impacts on turnout.

“The Supreme Court was unanimous that the voting age for local elections is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. The Review into the Future of Local Government recommended it. The Minister and Parliament must listen to the law and the experts and let us vote.

“With a Bill to lower the voting age set to be before Parliament very soon, the Minister must make it a priority that a voting age of 16 gets across the line for local elections. He must ensure there is a separate vote in the Bill for local elections and that it passes.”

Editor’s notes

Local Government New Zealand found that on preliminary results turnout was just 36%. They expected that would increase 2-3% once special votes were counted https://www.lgnz.co.nz/news-and-media/2022-media-releases/lgnz-calls-for-an-independent-review-of-local-government-elections/

The Review into the Future of Local Government recommended the voting age for local elections be lowered to 16 in their draft report He mata whāriki, he matawhānui https://www.futureforlocalgovernment.govt.nz/assets/Reports/Draft-report-final.pdf

In recently released research, Jan Eichorn and Christine Hübner at the University of Edinburgh have found that not only did 16 and 17 year-olds in Scotland vote at higher rates than their slightly older counterparts, but that those whose first vote is at 16 or 17 continued to vote at higher rates in later elections https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/votes-at-16-in-scotland-study

The Supreme Court declared that a voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the right to be free from age discrimination under the Bill of Rights and that the Attorney General had failed to justify that limit. Kós J dissented only in relation to general elections, meaning the court was unanimous as to the inconsistency for local elections https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/2022/2022-NZSC-134.pdf

© Scoop Media