Non-citizens are part of the community and deserve to vote in ACT: Greens

Everyone who contributes to the Canberra community should be given a say in who represents them in the ACT's parliament whether they are a citizen or not, the Greens say, as they launch another push to extend voting rights.

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ACT Greens deputy leader Andrew Braddock will introduce a bill to the Legislative Assembly in an effort to allow non-citizen residents to vote in territory elections along with young people aged 16 and over.

The Greens have been trying to lower the voting age in the ACT for 30 years.

Deputy ACT Greens leader Andrew Braddock, centre, with leader Jo Clay, left, and member for Brindabella Laura Nuttall. Picture by Keegan Carroll

Mr Braddock said he wanted to give people who contributed to the community by paying taxes, running businesses and working in the health and aged-care systems a say over Canberra's future.

"I think since we've seen federal politicians punching down on migrant communities and in a race to the bottom to cut the numbers, I think now is a fantastic time to be standing up for those people who've elected to make Canberra their home," Mr Braddock told ABC radio on Tuesday.

Pressed on whether self-interest was behind the Greens' long-held enthusiasm for extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds, Mr Braddock acknowledged young people were more likely to vote for his party.

"I would suggest to the major parties, well, it means they need better policies for young people. Permanent residents are less likely to vote for the Greens, so I can't say it's self-interest at play here. ... This is about the principle of people having a say in the future of their city," he said.

The Greens pointed to rules in New Zealand that allow some non-citizen residents to vote in national elections and a wider franchise in Scotland that covers qualifying foreigners and 16- and 17-year-olds as precedent for their plan.

Non-citizen residents can vote in City of Sydney and Melbourne City Council elections, the party said.

The Self-Government Act gives the Legislative Assembly the power to expand voting rights as long as no one eligible to vote at federal elections is excluded.

The Greens introduced a bill to the Assembly in 2021 to lower the voting age in the ACT to 16 but it was voted down by Labor and the Liberals in 2023.

"The Greens' proposal to issue warnings for not voting, not just for young voters but for all voters in their first election, would effectively introduce a system of voluntary voting in the ACT," Labor minister Chris Steel said in the 2023 parliamentary debate.

"It would create two classes of voters with different rules: an unequal system where most voters have to vote and some people do not have to. We think that fundamentally undermines equality in our voting system and the objective of compulsory voting to ensure representation and participation in democracy."

Greens MLA Kerrie Tucker introduced a bill to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 for territory elections in 1996 but it was never debated.

"The Greens believe that the denial of political rights on the basis of an arbitrary age restriction is discrimination. It should be for those who argue against lowering the voting age to justify their position and come up with compelling reasons for differential treatment. I have yet to see in research any such argument," Ms Tucker told the Assembly on April 17, 1996.

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