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AUSTRALIA

Teen voter avoids fine from the Australian Electoral Commission

  • 28 August 2013

In ten days I will cast a vote for the first time. Well, technically.

My first time should have been in the local elections on the 27th October last year, and as a result, I owe the Electoral Commission $100.

Not a great start.

However on 7 September I will finally be able to have my say in the formation of government. Something I am very excited about.

Even though I’ve never been fond of politicians, I must admit that – unlike many teenagers my age – I do take an interest in political affairs.

I’m aware of the parties, the figureheads and their rarely mentioned policies. I know how parliament works and occasionally watch political shows on the ABC. My brother has told me that this is ‘really sad’. By his admission he doesn’t even care.

His views reflect those of most people our age. The civic apathy, the disengagement and the disillusionment are all common themes amongst the latter part of Gen Y. Many of my friends have conscientiously chosen not to enrol to vote as they see it as a ‘waste of time’ and do not care the slightest about politics. Even those who are enrolled plan on casting an informal vote, or unbeknown to them, a valid ‘donkey vote’.

This undermines the whole process as my vote may be effectively cancelled out by the vote of an ignorant or uninterested voter.

Their ignorance is usually by choice, and frankly, I do not blame them.

I consider myself rather informed, and even I’m lost. I’ve never really had a strong political preference, and ten days out from the election, I still do not know how I am going to vote.

I look to the papers and watch the news for guidance, but they all work to serve different agendas. The media plays a pivotal role during the campaign, and if you look carefully enough, they usually bat for one side. Quirks and gaffes are the focus, policies are unheard of and we see photos with more babies than I thought existed in Australia. What is it about politicians holding babies?

Issues are 'discussed' although you can only hear so much of the same.

Same-sex marriage is in the news and has been for as long as I can remember. The fact is that it is in the public interest and theoretically a democratic government should discuss it.

‘Stopping the boats’ has also been an issue for a very long time
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