National Schools Constitutional Convention Year 9 and 10 Pilot Program

I was lucky enough to be selected as one of 30 people around the state to represent Victoria at the National Civics and Citizenship Convention at the Windsor Hotel on the 27th of October. The topic debated on was whether voting should be mandatory in Australia. We had multiple speakers from universities across Australia come in and talk about the Australian democratic process, its history, its enforcement and its rules as well as other countries' systems too. After the presenters had spoken, we were given time to talk amongst ourselves about our opinions on the topic and then report back to the convention on the result of our deliberations. After all this, a secret ballot was held, in which all members of the convention were given the option to vote for or against compulsory voting. In the end 90 people voted for compulsory voting and 12 people voted against it. Finally, the president of the senate, Sue Lines, was presented with our communique and briefly spoke to us. It was an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable day and I recommend all year 9 and 10 students next year to apply for the 2023 convention.

William - 10C3