Local Government Minister and Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown has announced the coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Labour Government’s plan to lower the voting age in council elections.
The Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill would have seen 16-year-olds in New Zealand be given the right to vote for their local representatives.
“Ratepayers and residents expect their local councils to be sticking to core business of efficiently and effectively delivering local infrastructure and services,” Brown says.
“Worrying about how to implement a new voting age regime would be a costly distraction for councils who have enough issues to deal with right now.
“The coalition Government will not entertain the previous Government’s voting age and is therefore withdrawing the Bill from any further consideration.
“The previous Government proposed lowering of the voting age to 16 but could not provide the public with any convincing reason why.
“Their plans were without logic and we will not be progressing them.”
