ABC Listen. Hi friends, my name's Shalilah and you're listening to a special episode of News Time.
Hi Shalilah. I'm stepping in for Ruby on this week's episode of News Time because it's all about politics and I'm a political reporter for Triple J.
I think politicians are, like, the prime minister's friends and, like, also important.
Politicians help make big decisions about the way communities are run.
The Prime Minister is a politician and they're in charge of the whole country.
And you're right, politicians can be friends.
But sometimes things can get a little fiery between them too.
That's because they're often competing against each other.
And there's no bigger competition between politicians than the one happening in Australia on May the 3rd. My fellow Australians.
This morning I visited the Governor -General and her Excellency has accepted my advice to an election be held on Saturday 3rd of May 2025.
That's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing the federal election.
Do you know what that is?
Elections in democracy are a voting system where there's multiple candidates and you have to vote.
So it's legally required anyone above the age of 18 will vote and whoever has the highest amount of votes becomes the new either president or prime minister depending on the country.
Wow, you really know your stuff.
Yes, in the case of Australia the federal election is when adults vote for who they think should lead the country.
Where everyone in Australia votes for the Prime Minister that they want and that they think was keep Australia like a good place.
Yes, the Prime Minister is one of the people who gets elected, but there are also 225 other politicians who help run Australia.
So everyone actually gets an input on what happens?
That's the idea. So people across the whole country are represented.
Federal elections happen about every three years, and voting day is always a Saturday.
Everybody will go to somewhere in their town or city And they just tick a box, I think, and then put it in a ballot box.
And then all the votes get counted up, totaled up, and then whoever gets the most will win.
Pretty much polling places, that's where you vote, are set up in public buildings like churches or schools.
Grown -ups go there, get their name signed off and are handed pieces of paper called ballots.
Sometimes, if they can't make it on election day, they'll vote at a special early polling place or they'll post their ballots in the mail.
The ballots will have a list of politicians on them and voters put numbers next to their names, with a number one next to who they think is the best choice to help run Australia.
I think that kids over a reasonable age should be able to vote because they should get a say because it's impacting their life too, not just the adults.
I do not think kids should be able to vote because they're young and inexperienced and don't know what makes a good leader and what leaders may have previously done in their lives.
I say yes and no, because some kids like very smart, but also some kids are silly.
I reckon you could say the same about adults.
In Australia, you have to be over 18 to vote because that's the age you were legally considered an adult in this country.
But the voting age used to be even older.
It was 21. It was lowered to 18 in the year 1973.
18 versus 21. The legislation to give full adult status at 18 has already been agreed to in principle by all state governments in Australia.
Since then some politicians have tried to lower the age to 16 but they didn't get enough support.
The voting age is due to be debated again soon.
Like if we were to talk more about the people that we could vote for it would be good for us to vote but like right now we're not really getting that sort of education so we'd vote for whoever because we don't know who they are.
Good point. Well after listening to news time you'll know lots more about for politicians so that when you can vote, you'll be super prepared.
I don't think I would like to be a politician because it would be too much stress and I'd have to make all of the really big decisions.
I do not want to be a politician because too much work.
It is a big responsibility, but if you're lucky to get enough votes in the federal election, you'll get to join the government and work in Parliament House.
You've probably seen that building maybe you've even been there on a school excursion.
It's in Canberra surrounded by lovely green grass perfect for rolling down and it has a huge Australian flag flying on the roof.
Inside there are lots of rooms but two of the most important are called chambers the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The House of Representatives has green seats and And the Senate has Rhett.
Elected politicians sit in both chambers, and do you know what they do there?
They yell at each other.
Two packs of lions are tagging each other.
It's not very nice words.
Like, they're not being really really rude, but they're also not being really really nice.
This is right. No, this is right.
No, this is right. And then they just keep on arguing over and over, but it's really just probably not very smart to do.
It sounds like you've watched some debates in Parliament but it's not all arguing.
They have lots of big meetings.
They make laws, a lot of paperwork.
That's right, there's a lot involved in running Australia and of course, the boss of Parliament is the Prime Minister.
I, Paul John Keating, do swear that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
I, John Winston Howard, do swear that I will well and truly serve the people of Australia.
Who will be Australia's next Prime Minister?
We'll have to wait until election day to find out.
We usually know the Prime Minister of Australia a day or so after voting closes.
It depends on how close the votes are and how long they take to count.
I would like to be Prime Minister one day because I think it'd be really, really good to be able to help the country with its problems. Like, being a kid in it now and then growing up and, like, getting to make the decisions about it would be pretty cool.
Good for you. I wouldn't even want to be Prime Minister because it sounds like a really big job and it would be really busy and I don't want all that stress.
I understand that point of view too.
All of Australia's prime ministers so far have been part of a political party.
Is it a party for politics?
I've heard of a birthday party.
I don't know if there's much past the parcel of fairy bread in these sorts of parties.
Political parties are like teams made up of people who have similar opinions.
The biggest political parties in Australia are called the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the Nationals and the Greens.
But there are lots of others too.
And they are a group of people that are siding against the other party because they want their leader to lead the country because they think they are the right person.
Yes. The current Prime Minister of Australia is in the Labor Party, but experts say his biggest competition is from the Liberal Party.
Whichever party has the most politicians in the House of Representatives in parliament usually has the most power, but there are also politicians who aren't in any party at all.
They're called Independents and so far Australia has never had an independent Prime Minister.
Imagine saying no to a party invitation.
They must know there's no theory bread.
When the federal election is over, and politicians take their places in Parliament House, it's time for voters to see if they made the right choice.
They, um, help people but they also say stuff that sometimes they don't follow through on. Yeah, sometimes.
When politicians are trying to get people to vote for them, they make lots of promises about things they'll do if you pick them.
I would give poor people more money.
I would build a reptile sanctuary.
I would try to improve our relations with foreign countries and help with the war in Ukraine by sending military aid.
I would help Australia to be even more multicultural and let more immigrants in.
I would focus, I think, on the environment and climate change and making sure we all have a safe place.
You all sound like you would make awesome politicians one day.
But keeping promises isn't always easy, and these big ideas are mostly what politicians talk about in Parliament House.
It's kind of like a big debate about, like, what we need.
Yep, and then a new kind of voting starts.
Politicians come up with plans and then they have to convince each other to vote on those ideas.
And all those big decisions often depend on what the elected politicians think are the biggest issues facing the country.
I think some of the biggest issues are inequality and pay gaps.
For example, women have been experiencing less pay than men in a lot of roles.
The cost of the stuff that you need, like clean water and food, you need that stuff, but it costs so much money.
I think I would focus on getting people to stop polluting and a more encouraging way to get them to do that.
They're all such big issues, and that's why it's important for us to learn about the politicians on the ballot papers, what they're promising, and how they plan to achieve their goals before we vote.
I know who my parents are going to vote for, but I'm not gonna tell you.
I can't wait to vote.
I wish we could vote now.
You'll get there eventually.
Maybe you'll even be Prime Minister.
Whoo -hoo! Thank you, Shalala.
Thanks for listening.
Ruby will be back next week with your regular episode of News Time.
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