The Importance Of Voting In Australian Democracy

Arguably the most important referendum in Australia’s history occurred on May 27th 1967. This was the day that decided Indigenous Australians place in society, representing Aboriginal discrimination coming to an end. The vote was not about getting citizenship or voting right for the Aboriginals, it was targeted at making amendments to the constitution, allowing the Indigenous Australians to be counted in the Australian census and allowing Australian laws that included the Aboriginal Australians. The 1967 referendum had two sections requiring change, section 51 and 127. The eradication of all prejudice requirements within Commonwealth constitution was passed with voters support by the Australian body with an astonishing  90.77% of votes.

Linkage institutions can be defined as institutions that connect citizens with the government. Examples of linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. Elections specifically are supposed to encourage public participation in the selection of governmental officials. Unfortunately, low voter turnout has proved that elections are an imperfect linkage institution. Elections depend on voters to be successful, and some factors that relate to the likelihood of voting include age, education, and race. Although some people underestimate the power of the vote, voter turnout is

Let's take it back to the 27th of May, 1967. The Australian Referendum, called by the Holt Government is about to decide whether or not citizens of Australia believe that Indigenous Australians should be given the right to vote. Although this was a successful referendum, in the government's eyes, this was going to give the recognition that the Indigenous Australians wanted. But it didn’t. The goal was to achieve a transformative lobby to concede the adverse wrongs of our colonial past. If that is so, how is it that 50 years later, this multicultural country and its government are still continuing to fail the First Australians, and ignoring the recognition they deserve - to be recognised in the Constitution.

The election of people in the House of Commons occurs in two manners. During a general election, in this the members of various constituencies are elected in a concurrent manner. The other manner is that of a General Election that takes place in a period of every five years. When the current member who represents the constituency dies, retires or resigns, the Election takes place; this election is taken place for the election of a representative of one constituency only. These elections can take place at any time.

Voting in Canada is more important now than ever. At the last federal election on October 19th 2015, there was an overall voter turnout of 68.3%. This was the highest voter turnout Canada had seen at a federal election in two decades. Out of 35,85 million people in Canada, 3,6 million people casted their ballots. However, with the overall increase of people that showed up to this election, the number of young people, especially those aged 18-24 that attended, was at an all time low. This has created a great deal of concern for when these people get to be older and more younger people will be eligible to vote, if there will be anybody in Canada who are still voting with interest and not just abstaining to. It’s important that the most amount of people in Canada vote as possible so that our government is solely represented by people who Canadians agree with their political statements and beliefs. There’s no point in the country being run by people and parties who Canadians don’t agree with because their main job as representants of the country is to voice the beliefs and concerns of those Canadians. It’s important for Canadians to be encouraged to vote young because it is the first years of being legal age to vote that are uninterested in doing so.

Voting in many countries is held in different ways. In The United States of America, voting is voluntary while the Australian citizen has to vote, it is compulsory. When an Australian citizen does not vote they receive a fine. Compulsory voting has now become a large political issue for many countries. Great Britain has seen a dramatic decline in the number of people voting in the last 15 years (Singh, 2014) and compulsory voting has become a large political and social debate. However, as with any political change, there are strengths and weaknesses. The Australian system is an excellent one to analyse as the question has to be asked when introducing compulsory voting what are the long term democratic, economic and social issues? Four key points can be outlined to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian compulsory voting system. The first, compulsory voting provides a clear and accurate representation of an entire electorate. Additionally, this system may influence an increase in support for the leftist policy in a current democratic institution. Another key issue to consider is, does an active and informed citizen have a moral duty and obligation to vote to protect and further society? Key constitutional changes brought about by referendums can prove that compulsory voting is essential and needed in society for every vote to count. Lastly, compulsory voting when being a secret ballot can turn into a more compulsory “turn up” for many citizens as they can

These can then lead to bigger elections down the line. An election period can last for anything from 1 year up to 5 years. A mayor will serve for 1 year; a local councillor will serve for up to 4 years and an MP will serve for up to 5 years. The Prime minister will serve up to 5 years and can call an election whenever they want in this time period, they will usually call for an election after a successful or something that will make them be favoured by the public to increase their chance of being re-elected.

The Australian Parliamentary system reflects a variety of qualities of democratic purposes. This is noted since the Australian system is an accountable and responsible government, which means that the government debates the passage of a bill in parliament and through the committee system. It must also submit itself to election within three years of taking control of the House of Representatives and the senate goes to election every six years. This

The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969 during the Vietnam war, because it was only fair to those aged 18 - 20 dying for their country have a say in how the country is run. Therefore if 16 year olds are now capable of

Voting is the chance to contribute to the political process, and the framework was made to work best when everybody partakes. Along these lines, utilizing your entitlement to vote is not only an expansion to the voter turnout insights distributed by each significant media site (which reliably demonstrate seniors as having the most astounding voter turnout - time for the young to lift it up). Your vote really matters and the country needs and needs to hear your feeling. We live in a vote based system (a term utilized delicately as a part of our general public). A democracy is a system of government in which the entirety of the population participates. So, participate all the time.

You don’t see and I appreciate a doctor only until you see changes in you that the prescribed medicines are making some improving in your body. I am a witness and have seen why Labor Party deserved my vote. South Sudanese Australians should too vote for the Labor Party, if they hope to achieve their potentials.

The main parties of Australia are: the Labour Party, Liberal Party, National Party, and the Australian Democrats; these parties are voted in through a preferential system of voting (“Australia’s Political Structure,” 2011). All citizens over the age of 18 are required to vote for these parties because of compulsory voting (adopted in 1924). Australia followed many other democracies on there decision to implement compulsory voting during the 1920s. However, the country unusually added mandatory voting without other previsions (Birch, 2009). Australia was able to do so because of several strong factors supporting the measure.

In addition to National and State laws Australia is a founding member of the United Nations and a party to major Human Rights Treaties. The right to vote without discrimination, is set out in the International Covenant on Civic and Political Right (article 25) and the International Covenant on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (article 5). Both these treaties bind the Australian Government. The right to vote is also set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 21) which Australia signed in 1948. There is debate whether Australia’s current approach to deny prisoners the right to vote where they have been sentenced to imprisonment for more than three years satisfies its treaty obligations. The Australian Human Rights Commission holds this view.

The Australia arrangement of compulsory voting at federal election was implemented in 1924 and has demonstrated as being one of the most successful electoral arrangements in the world. (Ghazarian, 2012) Compulsory voting should be the finest decision for Australia citizens as it is a national engagement.

Voting is very essential and one of the easiest methods to influence public policy. You just need to be registered, and go to a polling station. It is simple because the government encourages people to vote, to hear a broad range of opinions. It is a form of direct democracy because when you vote, it directly affects the side or issue you support. Your vote is one more supporting opinion for a candidate or issue that is counted. Some people may think that their vote won’t make a big difference, but if you look at it from another perspective it can impact smaller and local issues. Although voting is imperative because you are given this privilege at the age of 18, it is not the end of one’s ability to influence government, but rather the beginning.