New Zealand court rules voting age of 18 is discriminatory - Reuters

WELLINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - New Zealand's highest tribunal ruled connected Monday that the country's existent voting property of 18 was discriminatory, forcing parliament to sermon whether it should beryllium lowered.

The case, which has been going done the courts since 2020, was bought by advocacy radical Make It 16, which wants the property lowered to see 16 and 17 twelvemonth olds.

The Supreme Court recovered that the existent voting property of 18 was inconsistent with the country's Bill of Rights, which gives radical a close to beryllium escaped from property favoritism erstwhile they person reached 16.

The determination triggers a process successful which the contented indispensable travel earlier parliament for treatment and beryllium reviewed by a parliamentary prime committee. But it does not unit parliament to alteration the voting age.

"This is history," said Make It 16 co-director Caeden Tipler, adding: "The authorities and parliament cannot disregard specified a wide ineligible and motivation message. They indispensable fto america vote."

The radical says connected its website determination is insufficient justification to halt 16 twelvemonth olds from voting erstwhile they tin drive, enactment afloat clip and wage tax.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the authorities would draught authorities to trim the property to 16, which could past beryllium enactment to a ballot successful parliament.

"I personally enactment a alteration successful the voting property but it is not a substance simply for maine oregon adjacent the government, immoderate alteration successful electoral instrumentality of this quality requires 75% of parliamentarian support," she said.

Political parties person mixed views connected the subject. The Green Party wants contiguous enactment to little the voting property to 16, but the largest absorption party, the National party, does not enactment the shift.

"Obviously, we've got to gully a enactment somewhere," said National enactment person Christopher Luxon. "We're comfy with the enactment being 18. Lots of antithetic countries person antithetic places wherever the line's drawn and from our constituent of view, 18's conscionable fine."

Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Bradley Perrett & Shri Navaratnam

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