Darren Churchill: Australian Democrats Campaigns

DARREN CHURCHILL

ACT Democrats President

Media Release: 30th July, 2009:

Democrats say the young can make a difference by enrolling to vote

ACT Democrats president, Darren Churchill has urged eligible 17 and 18 year old people to respond to the Australian Electoral Commission’s (AEC) “National Enrol to Vote Week 2009” and take the opportunity to register to vote and put their name on the Electoral Roll.

“It’s great that in Australia we can choose our representatives. We can also vote out those we do not believe represent our interests. This is a right we often take for granted in Australia. In some other countries people fight and die for this right.” Mr Churchill said.

”If young people want politicians to take an interest in the issues that matter, it is necessary to make them accountable at the ballot box.”

“It’s wonderful that the AEC is taking this initiative to get young people interested in the democratic process by going out to the schools. Enrol to Vote week is a great way of raising awareness amongst young people.”

“The Democrats would like to see them go the next step in encouraging voter education. We’d like to see the introduction of voluntary voting for 16 to 18 year olds, so the democratic culture is strengthened and learned from an earlier age.”

Governments make decisions that affect young people. So it’s only right that young people are given the option of having a say in who makes those decisions. “ Mr Churchill concluded.

CONTACT:

Darren Churchill

ACT Democrats President

darren.churchill@act.democrats.org.au

Tel: 0412 196 473

This entry was posted on 30/07/2009 at 8:48 pm and is filed under Electoral Reform. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.