Currently in New Zealand, a debate is ongoing about whether Permanent Residents should still be allowed to enroll and vote in elections? How would you feel if Australia allowed PR's to be able to enroll and vote?
So currently, in New Zealand, if you are a Permanent Resident and have been living in New Zealand for at least 12 months, you are eligible to enroll and vote in elections. It has recently been raised by some political parties of their intent to scrap voting rights from PR's and only allow citizens to vote. This has caused considerable debate, as some politicians argue that if you live in New Zealand permanently, you deserve a say in how the country is run.
Currently in Australia, the rules are clear in that only Australian citizens can enroll and vote (with exceptions for British subjects enrolled prior to 1984). PR's are not able to vote.
So how would if a policy was announced by a political party in Australia that would allow permanent residents to be able to enroll and vote in elections? Or are you content with it being restricted to citizens only?
Posted Sep 23, 2026, 8:32 AM UTC