"Young people want less talk and more action." This is what Joseph Muscat told members of the National Youth Council back in 2012 when discussing the issue of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16. Fast forward a couple of years and Muscat is now playing around with words, the MZPN said.

MZPN strongly called for all 16- and 17-year old youths not to be deprived of their right to vote in the upcoming spring hunting referendum. With the issue having been settled with respect to voting in local council elections, MZPN deems the refusal to grant nearly 10,000 youths the right to vote in the referendum being held on the same day as blatant contradiction and hypocrisy.

MZPN believes that since as a nation we have accepted the fact that these youths should be

allowed to vote for the local council elections in order to have a direct say in their representation, they should also be allowed to express themselves in the hunting referendum which directly affects the society they, as other voters, live in.

Giving 16- and 17-year-olds the chance to vote in this referendum would be a great chance for them to express themselves in a logical, non-partisan manner, and is the perfect stepping stone to electoral decision - making in the future. Unfortunately, Malta's Prime Minister seems to be too busy up with his behind closed-doors-pledges to take any regard of this.

MZPN therefore strongly urges Government to rethink its position and prove it truly believes in our nation's youth.