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‘‘It is not a matter of if we will lower the voting age, it is when we lower the voting age.’’ Make IT 16 leadership member

‘‘It is not a matter of if we will lower the voting age, it is when we lower the voting age.’’

The group has twice before – in the High Court and the Court of Appeal – been turned down for the declaration of inconsistency with the Bill of Rights.

And the Supreme Court said while the Crown had not justified the age limit yet, it could later show it to be justified.

Parliament could take into account other matters to ensure whatever happened had the necessary democratic legitimacy, Justice Ellen France said summarising the court’s decision.

Former Labour Prime Minister and constitutional law scholar Sir Geoffrey Palmer said the court decision was a ‘‘progressive and important [step] to make out democracy more robust’’.

One of the judges, Justice Stephen Kos, disagreed in part with the other four judges. He would have made the declaration in relation to local elections but not parliamentary elections because he said it was entrenched at 18 for voting for parliament. It amounted to an exception to the right to be free from age discrimination, he said.

However, The Future for Local Government Review is already considering the option of lowering the voting age for local body elections. Its draft report recommends lowering the voting age to 16 for local body elections. The review has invited submissions on its proposals before February 2023.

Caeden Tipler