Interpret the Constitution

Getting started

• Read the Museum of Australian Democracy’s article Lowering the voting age. Discuss with students the reasons why the voting age was lowered.
  • • What arguments do you think would be most influential?
    • Why might the attempts to lower the voting age in 1968 and 1970 have been unsuccessful?
• Since then, there have been attempts to further lower the voting age to 16, including the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (16 And 17 Year Old Voluntary Enrolment) Bill 1996. Discuss with students:
  • • Do you think the voting age should be lowered to 16?
    • What are some arguments for and against lowering the voting age?

Activity (90 minutes)

1. Use the Law at a glance worksheet to introduce the scenario and familiarise students with section 41 of the Australian Constitution, as well as High Court cases related to voting in Federal elections.
2. Review the following terms as they apply to this case:
   • Applicant – a person who makes an application to the court. Our applicant is Alex Lee.
   • Respondent – a person against whom an application is made. Our respondent is the Australian Electoral Commissioner.
   • When reading the name of a civil or constitutional court case aloud, the ‘v’ is pronounced ‘and’. For criminal cases the ‘v’ is pronounced ‘against’.
3. Organise the class into groups according to the Group organisation table. There are 7 High Court justices and constitutional cases are heard by all the justices. However, this activity will work best if everyone in the class has a role.
4. Ask each legal team to select their lead counsel and the justices to choose a Chief Justice. These people will have speaking roles in the hearing.
5. Give all students time to research and prepare. The Law at a glance worksheet is a good place to start. Students should consider the meaning of section 41 of the Constitution and how it applies to this case. Is Alex Lee an ‘adult person’ according to the Australian Constitution? And if Alex Lee is an adult, does section 41 guarantee their right to vote federally?
6. Justices should familiarise themselves with the case law and prepare a list of questions to ask the legal teams.
7. Legal teams should prepare their argument to present to the court. They will also need to provide a written summary of their key arguments to the justices prior to the hearing. The table on the Law at a glance worksheet can be used to summarise key points.
8. Conduct the hearing according to the High Court script.
9. Give the justices time to prepare their judgements. They can discuss their ideas with each other and can present their judgements individually or in groups.
10. Justices then explain to the court who they find in favour of and why. The party that has the support of the majority of justices wins the case.
11. Students may complete the Lee v Electoral Commissioner worksheet to reflect on the decision that was reached.

Discussion questions

• What was the result of your classroom’s High Court decision? Did this decision surprise anyone?
• What would be the impact of this decision on Alex Lee and other young people in Australia?
• Has anyone changed their position on the issue of lowering the voting age to 16 as a result of this case? Why or why not?

Extension

Research the High Court case Roach v Electoral Commissioner [2007] HCA 43 and answer the following questions:

• Describe the changes made to The Commonwealth Electoral Act in 2004 and 2006.
• What was the impact of this legislation on Ms. Roach?
• Explain the arguments that Ms. Roach presented to the High Court.
• What was the outcome of the case?
• Explain the impact of the decision on Ms. Roach, other prisoners and the legal system.

• Australian Constitution
• Years 9+10
• Senior secondary