Campaigners attempting to lower the voting age to 16 in New Zealand will return to court on Thursday, arguing against the High Court's decision that discrimination against 16- and 17-year-olds was "justified".
In October, the court found while the current voting age of 18 was "inconsistent with the right to be free from age discrimination", it was a "justified limit".
While the Bill of Rights Act states every citizen 18 or over has the right to vote, section 19 says "everyone has the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act 1993", which begins at age 16.
The Bill of Rights Act says limits on freedoms "may be subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society".
The Make it 16 campaign is putting its case forward to the Court of Appeal, with co-director Cate Tipler telling The AM Show the group believes there's "insufficient justification" for blocking 16-and-17-year-olds from voting.
"At its core, and why we're at court, is it's a human rights issue."
Several countries already have a voting age as low as 16, including Austria, Scotland, Argentina, Wales, Cuba, Brazil, Nicaragua and Ecuador.
Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
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