ONE in four 18-year-olds are not enrolled to vote, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.
But despite the statistics showing that young people remain under-represented on the electoral roll, the opinions of a group of students from Williamstown High School suggest they are more politically engaged than people think.
Star spoke to a class of Year 12 students from the school as part of Enrol to Vote Week, with surprising results.
All 16 students surveyed said they would vote even if voting wasn’t compulsory.
Many of them had a political view, were interested in how the country was run, and expressed faith in the nation’s political system.
But few said they looked to the nation’s leaders as role models for their lives.
Legal studies and student leadership teacher Marion Riches says people sometimes underestimate the younger generation.
“They’re learning to drive, they’re going out into the big world out there, so generally they’re quite aware of things.
“They do read newspapers, listen to the news, and they do have opinions, but we sometimes disregard them. They are fully aware of their rights,” Ms Riches said.
“They actually quite respect the system, the parliamentary process.
“Some look to our politicians for leadership, some don’t, but I think that’s typical of society in general,” she said.
Politics plays a big part in 17-year-old Stephanie Sweeney’s life.
“You’re exposed to politics every day, in every kind of way. You turn on the TV and there’s someone on TV talking about what’s going on. You open the newspaper, and there’s a politician in there.
“Politics governs what’s going to happen to you. Politicians make laws, so it’s really important to me, because it determines how I live my life,” Stephanie said.
For Brietta Cowrie, politics “has a lot to do with how the world changes, the economy, developing countries, and my future”.
The 18-year-old is grateful that “Australia is a country that has a stable government”.
“I went to Cambodia and Thailand, and they seem to be always changing leadership, having a coup every few months.
“I think we have a good system, especially when you compare it with other countries without a system,” she said.
But Christine Chumbley is aware the system is far from perfect.
“Politics gives you the right to express your opinion, to make sure you are heard, but it’s not 100 per cent, I feel there are a few glitches,” the soft-spoken 18-year-old said.
“Everyone has their views and not everyone can be heard, and it’s quite hard to make judgements and decisions on what’s right and wrong, and how things should be done. There will always be losers and people who are marginalised,” she said.
Nick Issell, 18 would like to see politicians take a bolder stance on issues.
He wants troops to be completely pulled out of Iraq and public amenities like telecommunications and public transport returned to the hands of the government.
“A lot of times I think they (our leaders) are pretty spineless. They fail to take action on the things they probably should, like foreign policy for example. Or they just fall in line with politicians from other countries like America.
“They tend to look after their popularity polls rather than what they should be really doing,” he said.
Emmy Watson’s mum works for Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. She said it was the “family association” that sparked her interest in politics.
Most of her friends were politically minded, though “there are other people who don’t really care at all, just as it is in adult life”, the 17-year-old said.
Indeed, Angela Ridout and Renee Marridis took a more passive stance towards politics.
Most of Angela’s friends are not into politics.
“They’re more into stuff like celebrity and sports, and I’m probably more into that than politics. I’d know more about celebrities than our politicians,” the 17-year-old said.
It also stems from the fact that her parents are more sceptical about the government. “So I kind of have the same ideas as them,” she said.
Renee said she sat up and took notice only when it came to issues affecting her.
“Like lately, the P-plate laws,” she said.
But it didn’t mean she hadn’t got a political view. Unlike her peers, she was more critical of the incumbent Prime Minister.
“I didn’t mind John Howard, he did keep the economy quite steady for a while, and things seem to have gone badly with Kevin Rudd,” she said.
But she doesn’t look to the nation’s leaders as role models. “No, not at all, I don’t really relate to them,” she said.
