Local government has impressively low voter turnout, but can young people be the solution?

The South Australian government wants to increase record low voter turnout in local government elections. This begs the question, could young people be the solution?
Young people under the age of 18 make up 21% of South Australia’s population. They live, work and study in council areas, and can provide invaluable feedback on planning, developments and strategies affecting them.
So, what exactly does local government do? Unlike State or Federal governments (which organise themselves as broader political authorities), councils are directly responsible for community services such as libraries, parks, community centres, recreational facilities, wellbeing services and much more!
Yet, with an aggressively low voter turnout rate (hovering around 33% and with over 16 vacancies reported in 2022 local government elections), could extending political rights to young people, even from 12 years of age, provide that much needed engagement?
The Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP) Helen Conolly’s March 2024 report ‘Submission on the Local Government Participation and Elections Review’ examines this question and provides five key areas for improving local government’s relationship with young people.
**Local government’s engagement problem**
Every four years local government entities, hold elections to elect councillors for corresponding wards (groups of suburbs), who then vote on strategies, plans and other issues affecting their communities.
Unlike Victoria, enrolled voters are not required by law to vote in council elections. It is generally accepted that actually only some homeowners and special interest groups are actually motivated to participate.
This lack of engagement within the voting systems leaves councils vulnerable to worse decision making.
Many young people want to be leaders in their field. They want to be included and empowered to make positive changes for their communities. This was seen in recent council elections which saw many young candidates put themselves out there, with a few even winning election.
The report outlines five main areas for improvement in public policy that can not only increase youth engagement, but also expand local government engagement.

Recommendations

The recommendations focus on improving the relationship between young people and government, but also some substantial changes such as a reduction in the voting age and eligibility for candidacy in council elections, including:

- Establishing mechanisms for children and young people to participate as active citizens within their communities,

- Lowering the South Australian voting age in council elections to 16 years,

- Engaging with young people directly to respond to their views and experiences,

- Improving the provision of comprehensive civics and citizenship education with embedded human rights principals in schools.

Young people as active citizens

The report stresses that South Australian councils should prioritise ensuring children and young people can have ‘meaningful’ participation on issues affecting them, informing policies and recreational developments.

“[SA would be better for kids if] they could help with decisions like what kind of playground would be good or places fun and not too expensive to go.”

Young Person

Creating these mechanisms would have tangible benefits, identified as:

- More cost-effective decisions,

- Improve quality of life for children and families,

- Build trust between government and people.

Meaningful Models of Youth Engagement

Councils in South Australia have recently [AN(1] [AN(2] been developing youth advisory councils, or committees, that provide young people the ability to participate in discussions on issues affecting them. Other initiatives such as Youth Parliament provide young people with the opportunity to sit in parliament and practice democracy.

However, the report provides external criticisms of these functions as being ‘far to conventional’ to allow fundamental shifts in the empowerment of young people. This statement could prove controversial to some of SA’s established youth bodies.

Instead, it offers that councils should invest in ‘Young Mayors’ programs (currently tested in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales) to give young people serious nodes of engagement in decision making.

‘Young Mayors’ is organised by the Foundation for Young Australians who oversee the program to give young people aged 11-17 years the ability to run in public elections, and form part of an elected council to provide advice and investigate community issues.

Lowering the Voting Age

The biggest recommendation regarded reducing the voting age from 18 to 16 years in local government elections.

The report’s argument stresses the many life skills developed at that age: ‘at 16, young people can leave school, get a driver’s license, get their own Medicare card, live independently and apply to join the defence force.’ Therefore, an extension of the voting age is not as radical as some might think.

“A lack of knowledge about the workings of our political system and a lack of knowledge about the candidates and parties’ values causes many young people to feel disengaged in politics.” 17-year-old.

Supporting Candidates & Civic Education

Withstanding these changes, the report also regards that for these changes to be successful, both young candidates and young voters need appropriate training for voting in local government elections.

During the 2018 local government elections, young candidates voiced concerns with managing time commitments, life, jobs and campaigning as a major barrier that they wish they had more information about. The report suggests easy actions such as:

- Tips for campaigning,

- Health and wellbeing resources,

- Training opportunities,

- Media recognition.

The curriculum should also be amended for high school students to include a civics and citizenship education. This point was particularly crucial in the report for ensuring young people were adequately prepared for civic life. It suggested including a human rights-based approach that would include learning through human rights and looking for human rights.

“Democracy works best when people for all ages and backgrounds actively engage with and participate in decision making. Where this is not happening, this reflects how our political and education systems, institutions and processes are falling short in realising children and young people’s rights.”

Helen Conolly CCYP

Conclusion

As common as the phrase goes, young people are the future. This report makes clear that young people, even those not currently on the voter roll, are valuable pieces of the puzzle for solving low engagement rates in local government.

This report is a part of a wider submissions process for the Local Government Participation and Elections Review.

Are young people the future of local government?