Ever heard of teengagers being moved on from shopping centres and public spaces? Young people having issues at work with their pay or shifts? Or kids having difficulties in sentencing and other court procedures?

These are some of the human rights issues that young people in Australia face today, and we need a solution.

Human rights are apparently on our leaders' agenda. Last year, the Rudd Government conducted one of the largest public consultations in our nation’s history to find out how Australians want our human rights protected. The recommendations handed back by the Consultation Committee in September 2009 were clear. All Australians - youth, workers, the elderly and people of all ethnicities - want a Human Rights Act, and our Government should give us one.

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So... there was a costly taxpayer funded consultation, Australians were asked about human rights, we said give us an Act. The Government took 7 months to respond and said, nope - you can’t have one!

Do we continue... YES we do. Please still use the Action Hero stuff on this page. Let Minister Ellis know that you want Australia to have a Human Rights Act, that you are disappointed in the Government’s decision and that you want to live in a country that respects human rights.

We have written to Minister Ellis telling her that this action was already up and running before the Government announcement and explaining that we are still calling for a Human Rights Act in Australia.

So, what now?

The next step should have been simple right? Give Australians the Human Rights Act we want.

To make sure our leaders heard us, scores of people sent messages to Kevin Rudd on Facebook and Twitter last month reminding him about the Human Rights Act we called for. Now we're moving on to amplify the calls of Australian youth for better human rights protection.

Our Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, takes the voice of young people to Parliament. We are asking her to take action on calls by young people for greater human rights protection, and to tell other MPs about how a Human Rights Act is the best way to protect rights of young Australians.

Kate, be a hero

We're calling on Kate Ellis to be an action hero - help us give her a snapshot of exactly what we mean.

1. Download our Human Rights Act action hero badge (970kb) and print it out

You can also get action hero badges from your local Amnesty International Action Centre.

2. Create your own action hero

Think of the most public, weird and wacky ways you can make your own Human Rights Act action hero using the badge. For example:

  • Attach it to a statue in the middle of town
  • Attach it to an action hero figurine, doll, teddy bear etc
  • Get the Human Rights Act action hero to ride the bus, tram, or ferry
  • Let the action hero sit on a chair in your lecture theatre
  • Go crazy! create an action hero street theatre, you tube clip, flashmob, whatever!

3. Take a photo of your action hero

4. Send the photo to Kate Ellis online

May the best action hero win

Make sure you email all your action hero photos to activism@amnesty.org.au. Remember to include your name and location of the photo.

All photos will be published on our Flickr account, and the best photos will be published here on the Amnesty International Australia website.