Prior to federation, some states blocked voting by Aboriginals and non-Europeans. There is no right to vote in the Australian Constitution except the negative.  'No adult person who has or acquires a right to vote at elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of a State shall, while the right continues, be prevented by any law of the Commonwealth from voting at elections for either House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth'.https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SydLawRw/2014/10.pdf

In 1902 the Commonwealth Franchise Act excluded "natives of Australia, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands (other than New Zealand)" from the federal franchise, unless they were already enrolled to vote in an Australian state. In 1925, Indians and Asian Australians could vote. The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1961 removed the disqualification on Africans and Pacific Islanders.

Like freedom of speech, voting is not protected in the constitution but is 'implied' - maybe we have rights, maybe not. However, voting, as a possibility, is compulsory which is strange. Free speech against being forced to vote is not enough to escape its grip.

Daves2017 wrote on Sep 13^th, 2024 at 1:26am:



so that we don't end up a country governed by extremes, like the US is becoming.

For over a century the age was 21 years as in state voting, until Whitlam made it 18 years in 1973.  In 1970 New South Wales was the first State to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and in 1973 the voting age was lowered to 18 for Federal elections.

So the definition is missing from the constitution and the age can be anything. If it's only red-haired drug-addicts above 65 years voting in state or fed elections, that's the rule. If pollies decide only themselves can vote and keep themselves in a dictatorship, then that is the law.  The quoted article shows how woofy the whole thing is, with s 41 being ignored if people want to. If Trump is the man to follow, where will he take us?