Parliament unanimously passed the New Zealand Bill of Rights (Declarations of Inconsistency) Amendment Bill today. This establishes a process for Parliament and the Government to reconsider laws that courts have found to be unjustified limits on human rights.

“This is a significant day for human rights” says Make It 16 co-director Cate Tipler (they/them).

“If the Supreme Court issues a declaration of inconsistency in our court case, there is now a formal legal process to send the issue back to Parliament and the Government. It will force our politicians to look at this serious human rights issue and how a voting age of 16 will uplift and strengthen the voices of young people in Aotearoa. Breaching our human rights just isn’t good enough.

“It is particularly outrageous that in the upcoming local elections, due to the ratepayer roll, property owners can vote multiple times, but 16 and 17 year-olds like me can’t even vote once.”

“Regardless of the outcome in our court case though, the court case is just one aspect of our campaign. We have a petition with over 6,000 signatures, the Government has established an electoral law review to look into this issue, and we also recently handed in an open letter with the signatures of more than 70 local government elected members in support of a voting age of 16 for local elections.

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