A Rights Act for AUS? – Online Panel

Young Christian Students (YCS) and Young Christian Workers (YCW) ran a webinar on February 20th, World Social Justice Day, to advocate for a Federal Bill of Human Rights in Australia.

In this webinar, YCS and YCW leaders were able to educate people on their rights through interviews with a knowledgeable panel of specialists on the topic; Nikita White (Amnesty International), Senator Fatima Payman (Australia’s Voice), Darren Dick (Australian Human Rights Commission) and Taylah Cowley (YCS National Representative, representing young people across Australia).

The webinar addressed the most important contradiction that our fundamental human rights are not explicitly protected under the law.

While we have implicit, constitutional protection, our current system has proven itself to be ineffective, and a lack of reform continues to enable human rights breaches.

We need a national statutory Federal Bill of Rights in Australia.

Taylah commented that, Australia is isolating itself from every other western democracy and attracting criticism and media attention for all the wrong reasons. Understanding of your basic human rights and legislative measures to protect those rights are vital.

What should be a priority of the Australian government, has long been neglected, and Australians continue to pay the price. In 2023 alone, the Australian Human Rights Commission received 2,708 complaints of human rights breaches, and that’s just what was reported. We need a strong solution.

YCS and YCW are advocating for all young people in Australia. On February 20th, 2025, YCS and YCW hosted a Human Rights Webinar, for Social Justice Day. We hosted a panel of four experts in the field, who were able to share their perspective and argue on behalf of the bill. Senator Fatima Payman, founder of Australia’s Voice Party, took time from her day to commit to action on behalf of Australia. Amnesty International representative Nikita White and Australian Human Rights Commission representative Darren Dick were the experts of the evening, and presented detailed and cohesive arguments, which emphasised the necessity of a Federal Human Rights Bill in Australia. Our fourth panelist was YCS National Representative Taylah Cowley, a 17 year old school student representing young people on the panel.

Senator Lidia Thorpe, an Australian Independent politician, has also responded to our call to action, sharing with us her firm stance of support and solidarity.

A Human Rights Law Centre poll from 2021, indicated that 83% of the Australian population wanted a Federal Bill of Rights in Australia.

If you too believe in the necessity for an Australian Bill of Rights, there are ways you can catalyse change, including educating yourself and others, engaging with NGOs and lobbying members of parliament who have the authority to make these decisions.

All three of these advocacy tactics come to fruition, when you sign the Amnesty International Petition for an Australian Bill of Rights. This is a simple 2 minute survey, which ensures that this issue is addressed in the Australian Federal Parliament.

We would also strongly encourage you to email federal members of Parliament, to put pressure on those who represent your voice, to actually represent. As a movement, we have the commitment of Senator Fatima Payman, Anna Watson MP, and several other politicians across the country, with ongoing negotiations being conducted by our organisation. With pressure from constituents such as yourself, you could catalyse change in your local electorate, and advocate for your community.

If you wish to view the webinar, the link is here: https://youtu.be/ux-doniQH7I

The link to the Amnesty International Petition is: https://action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/support-a-human-rights-act

For further enquiries contact: info@ycw.org.au