The Australian Greens have used a Senate report on electoral matters to advance their case for lowering the voting age to 16.

An upper house committee made up of Labor, Liberal and Greens senators released its findings on two electoral bills on Thursday.

One would require more detailed authorisations to be printed on how-to-vote cards, a move designed to reduce the potential for voters to be misled, and non-compliance made a crime.
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The other reduces the age at which people may provisionally enrol to vote from 17 to 16, allowing the Australian Electoral Commission to try to enrol more young people.

The committee simply recommended both bills be passed.

But Australian Greens leader Bob Brown used the report to promote not only lowering the provisional voting age but the voting age itself to 16.

"Young people pay taxes, live under Australian laws and can leave home, have children, and join political parties," he wrote.

"At 16-and-a-half-years, young people can join the defence forces.

"The Greens believe that if our Australian society bestows young people with all these responsibilities, it is reasonable to afford (them) access to the opportunity to vote."

June 17, 2010
Sydney Morning Herald
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...0617-yjpg.html
(Australia)