Around Australia hundreds of young people spend their school holidays debating Bills in state youth parliaments. This experience may spark ‘an interest in politics’, as former federal MP (and current state MP) Chris Chewther attests, and potentially a career in politics—former Government Minister Kate Ellis is reportedly a program alumni. However, a young person’s path to becoming a parliamentarian is often challenging. This Flagpost article discusses life-cycle constraints young Australians face in entering politics and what federal parliament is doing to represent them.

Life-cycle challenges

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) released a report titled Youth participation in national parliaments in April 2021. The report discusses interventions to increase the number of young parliamentarians, including life-cycle factors (see pp. 40–42). The IPU summarises these 7 factors under the headings of trust, higher education, family, finances, career, mobility and prejudice. Recent evidence indicates that these factors similarly limit young Australians’ opportunities to enter public office:

• apathy with politics among young people is significant, with more than 1 in 5 18–24 year olds being dissatisfied with Australia's political processes (Australian Election Study 2022, Australian Data Archive).
• 43% of people aged 20–24 were studying for a non-school qualification (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022), thereby focussing some of their attention on higher education.
• majority of first-time mothers were aged 25–34 in 2020 (Births in Australia 2023); Brett Worthington discusses the reality of parliamentarians with babies.
• from a sample of Year 10 students, the majority considered social-movement citizenship (protests, helping local community, promoting human rights, protecting environment, voting) very or quite important (NAP Civics and Citizenship 2019, pp. 74–76). This is an alternative avenue of political participation compared to being elected to Parliament.
• young people are predominantly focused on developing a career, international travel and living independently (headspace National Youth Mental Health Survey 2023).
• 61% of 18–39 year olds moved residence within the past 5 years (‘Population movement in Australia’, Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021). This high mobility may impact their capacity to live in and serve a single electorate.
• a parliamentarian's average age when first elected/appointed is 44, based on available data going back to federation (Handbook 2023).

Representing youth in Parliament

Given these various constraints, it is worth reviewing what parliamentarians are doing to represent young Australians.

For example, young Australians can participate in the annual My First Speech competition, where year 10–12 students submit a 90 second speech. Each category winner is then ‘invited to Canberra to deliver their speeches live and undertake a program of meetings at Parliament House’. The Raise our Voice campaign also involves young Australians (aged under 21) submitting speeches to their local parliamentarian, to then be read in the Parliament. Of the 603 speech submitters in 2021, they rated the representation of young people in federal politics 3.5 out of 10, and the issue they cared most about was climate change (Raise our Voice 2021, p. 6). These initiatives provide insights on important issues to young Australians.

Some parliamentarians organise consultations to understand the views of young Australians. For example, Helen Haines MP created a ‘Youth Advisory Panel to advise her on the issues that are important to the young people of Indi’. On a nation-wide scale, Minister for Youth Anne Aly MP is undertaking a consultation with people aged 12–25. The Minister also works with a Youth Steering Committee and Youth Advisory Groups which consist of people aged between 13–24 and 16–25 respectively.

Young Australians can make submissions to committee inquiries and occasionally have appeared as witnesses at public hearings. For example, school students appeared as witnesses in the inquiries into lowering the voting age and increasing voter participation and Question Time.

Previously, the YMCA has convened national youth parliaments (late 1990s to early 2000s), hosted by Old Parliament House (House Standing Order 257 restricts visitors in the new Chamber). Additionally, state-based youth parliaments give young Australians opportunities to debate issues that are important to them. If a Bill is ‘passed’, it can also be referred to the relevant state Member (see Victoria and Western Australia for example). As a means of developing civics skills and engagement, the IPU report recommends ‘continuous support and mentoring’ to participants (p. 55).

Stuck in the pipeline

Further to the above initiatives, there have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to lower the federal voting age to 16 over the last few years via private members’ and senators’ Bills. Notably, these Bills have not considered lowering the candidature age, which according to Ace Project can lead to a ‘youth bulge’. Fifty years ago when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, the Government noted:

… the age qualification for candidature at Federal elections has been coincidental with the minimum age for enrolment and voting since federation and the Government takes the view that there is no logical reason to depart from the uniform age practice under Commonwealth electoral law.

The IPU report found that ‘[a] one-year increase in the minimum age of eligibility leads to a 0.6-year increase in the age of the youngest member’ (pp. 7, 17). A lack of age-related data on candidacy and party affiliation limits further analysis on the topic. There are barriers to entry that need to be overcome to increase youth representation in federal parliament and keep the dream alive for aspiring politicians.