Make it 16 take bid for lowering voting age to Supreme Court

The group will be heard in the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A youth-led campaign to lower the voting age to 16 will take its fight to New Zealand's highest court.

Make it 16 will have its case heard at the Supreme Court after failing in the group's efforts in the High Court and Court of Appeal in 2020 and last year.

They argue their case is a human rights issue.

"A formal declaration from the Supreme Court would be a powerful message to Parliament that they should fix this breach of our rights," Make It 16 co-director Cate Tipler said.

"It would force Parliament and the Government to see this as a priority and boost the movement for change."

Tipler said the latest outcome in the push to get the voting age lowered from 18 in time for this year's local body elections was "very exciting".

"This means rangatahi will get their day in the Supreme Court. Preventing me and other 16 and 17 year-olds from voting is unjustified age discrimination. It is a breach of the Bill of Rights."

The group, formed in July 2019 by youth activists both above and below voting age, are advocating for "more people's voices to count in our democracy", according to their website.

Make It 16 co-director Sanat Singh said the Supreme Court granting leave for a further appeal presented an opportunity to get a formal declaration from the highest court that preventing 16 and 17-year olds from voting is unjustified age discrimination.

Press and communications co-leader Mia Rennie said it was exciting to see all of their hard work had paid off.

"For us we just really want to see 16 and 17-year-olds have a voice in democracy and it's a human rights issue and that's not something we can just give up," Rennie said.

Since 2020 the group have sought a declaration from the courts, but at each hurdle have been denied.

They were unsuccessful in their bid in the High Court in 2020.

The judge found that the voting age restrictions were reasonable limitations on the right to be free from age discrimination under section 5 of the Bill of Rights.

This decision spurred the group to take the matter to the Court of Appeal where it found there was age discrimination and the Government couldn't justify that discrimination.

A declaration of inconsistency was declined, however, on the grounds that it was a "quintessentially political" issue.

"We were both excited and frustrated by the Court of Appeal ruling. Excited because they agreed with us there is age discrimination the Government has not justified, and frustrated because they decided not to issue a formal declaration to say that.

"We are asking the Supreme Court to formally say there is unjustified age discrimination, because we know there is," Singh said.

Attorney General David Parker's position is that the High Court was correct in declining the declaration Make it 16 seeks.

He submits that section 12 of the NZ Bill of Rights Act, which provides that every New Zealand citizen over the age of 18 can vote in parliamentary elections, settles any limitation in respect of the voting age.

Although a date hasn't been set for the group to go formally before the courts, Rennie said that date should "hopefully be soon".

Local Government elections will be held on October 8.