Guide 3 to NSW State Archives relating to Responsible Government - OCR - Flipbook - Page 232
A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Responsible Government
necessitate only one polling booth to be provided at any
convalescent home, hospital or similar institution; and to extend
the system of postal voting. The last named was the main
provision of the Bill.
Includes papers relating to the desirability of showing on ballot
papers the political affiliations of candidates at elections;
suggestions that the system of compulsory preferential voting be
abolished; postal voting for the State General Election on
21 March 1959 and other Elections; appointment of additional
polling places for elections for absent voting; and, postal voting for
those overseas in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Also included are lists of names and addresses of Returning
Officers for the 1959 General Election, and as at 31 December
1961 and as at 25 January 1965; requests for information relating
to voting; representations and submissions from individuals and
organisations (eg Association of Apex Clubs) about electoral
matters, particularly postal voting; representations re failure to
vote notices; newspaper cuttings; and, extracts from Hansard.
File 66/674: Lowering of the voting age from 21 years,
1963-70
The Parliamentary Electorates and Elections (Amendment) Act,
1970 gave the right to vote to 18, 19 and 20 year old persons who
are otherwise eligible to do so; by arrangement, both the
Commonwealth of Australia's and State legislation commenced on
21 March 1973.
CGS 12060,
File 66/674 in
[13/10940]
The question of lowering the voting age from 21 was referred to
the Law Reform Commission in March 1966 to make
recommendation to the Government. The Commission commenced
its inquiry — into the law of infancy in relation to contracts and
property and concerning the age qualification of electors for the
Legislative Assembly — shortly thereafter, requesting statements
from interested parties by 30 June. However, the reference made
to the Commission in relation to the question of extending the
franchise to persons under the age of 21 years was withdrawn by
the Attorney General in August 1967.
Includes representations from individuals to have the voting age
lowered from 21, to 19 or 20 in the earliest papers, or 18 in the
later; correspondence; newspaper cuttings; extracts from
Hansard; representations from organisations such as The Young
Liberal Movement of N.S.W. that the voting age be lowered to 18;
copy of the portion of the transcript of proceedings of the
Premiers' conference in 1970 relating to the voting age; draft
speech notes for the Premiers' 1970 Conference on the voting
age; and Cabinet statements.
The matter was raised at various Premiers' Conferences on the
basis that there should be uniformity in the voting age throughout
Australia. The file ends with a press clipping of 12 August 1970
that State Cabinet decided on the previous day to go ahead with
legislation to lower the voting age from 21 to 18.
State Records Authority of New South Wales
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