Addressed to:
Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister
Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water
Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change
Anne Aly, Minister for Youth
Dear Prime Minister and Ministers,
2024 is officially the hottest year on record. A child turning ten years old this year has lived through the ten hottest years on record. How many more records will be broken in this child’s lifetime? How many more broken records will future generations witness?
Young people are this country’s future. We are Australia’s future leaders, future innovators, future changemakers. We will soon inherit the world our leaders leave us, and we will be charged with taking it forward, with the responsibility of addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities that lie ahead of us.
We are waking up every day to news headlines of climate-related emergencies such as shattered temperature records, bushfires, floods, and heat waves impacting new corners of the Earth. Climate catastrophe is no longer an abstract concept or a far off possibility - we are watching it take hold of the world we love, the world we will soon be required to create our lives within, the world we must soon lead.
We know that climate change will have a disproportionate impact on current and future generations, as the world continues to warm and climate disaster increases in frequency and severity. And yet, there is no Australian domestic legislation that mandates the protection of the health and wellbeing of young people in the face of climate change.
The responsibility to legislate this duty lies squarely with the Federal Parliament. The case of Sharma v Minister for the Environment, in which eight Australian children argued that the government owes Australian children a duty to take reasonable care to protect them from climate change harm, found that this was a matter unsuitable for judicial determination. This task is now yours.
Your actions and policies right now are shaping what our world will look like. The futures of the young people of today and tomorrow are being crafted by your decisions right now.
We call on you to acknowledge your duty of care to us. We call on you to ensure that the decisions you make today are made with our health and wellbeing at the forefront of your minds, and that this is guaranteed by law.
Young people deserve nothing less than a duty of care in the face of climate change.
Signed,
Anjali Sharma, Jess Travers-Wolf, Hannah Vardy, Daisy Jeffrey
With the support of:
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Ralph Regenvanu MP Vanuatu’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Former Vanuatu Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment. |
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Professor Peter Doherty AC Australian immunologist and Nobel laureate of 1996. |
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Professor Fiona Stanley AC Australian epidemiologist, patron of the Telethon Kids Institute and 2003 Australian of the Year. |
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Pacific Elders Voice: Anote Tong (Chair), Dame Meg Taylor, Kaliopate Tavola, Robert Underwood, Enele Sopoaga, Konai Thaman, Mahendra Kumar, Tommy Remenngasau Jr Prominent leaders from across the Pacific. Anote Tong is the former President of Kiribati. Dame Meg Taylor is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as Secretary General to the Pacific Islands Forum from 2014 to 2021. Robert Underwood served as the delegate from Guam to the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003. Mahendra Kumar is a Fijian academic. Tommy Remenngasau Jr is the former President of Palau. |
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Lucy Turnbull AO Businesswoman, philanthropist, former Sydney Lord Mayor |
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Grace Tame 2021 Australian of the Year, Australian activist and advocate for survivors of sexual assault |
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Professor Tim Flannery FAA Internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, 2007 Australian of the Year |
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Emma McKeon AM Australian swimmer and Australia’s most decorated Olympian. |
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Dan Ilic Australian presenter, comedian and filmmaker. |
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Sophie Howe First and former Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. |
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Jodie Griffiths-Cook ACT Children’s Commissioner |
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Craig Foster AM Australian retired soccer player and human rights activist, 2023 NSW Australian of the Year. |
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Sophie McNeill Australian journalist, television presenter, author and human rights activist. |
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Tim Winton AO Australian writer. |
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John Hewson AM Former leader of the Federal Liberal Party from 1990-1995, Professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy. |
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Dr Saul Griffith Australian–American inventor and renewable electricity advocate. |
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Bri Lee Australian author, journalist and activist. |
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Wendy McCarthy AO Australian businesswoman, activist and chancellor of the University of Canberra from 1996 to 2005. |
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Natalie Kyriacou OAM Australian environmentalist, social justice advocate and social entrepreneur. |
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Lauren Dubois Former political journalist in the federal Press Gallery and published author. |
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Dr David R Boyd Former UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. |
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Janet Holmes à Court AC Chairperson of Heytebury Pty Ltd. |
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Professor Anne Kelso AO Australian immunologist and former CEO of the National Health and Medical Research Council. |
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Senator David Pocock Independent Senator for the ACT. |
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Dr Sophie Scamps MP Independent Member of Parliament for Mackellar. |
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Dr Monique Ryan MP Independent Member of Parliament for Kooyong. |
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Kylea Tink MP Independent Member of Parliament for North Sydney. |
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Dr Helen Haines MP Independent Member of Parliament for Indi. |
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Senator Lidia Thorpe Independent Senator for Victoria. |
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Allegra Spender Independent Member of Parliament for Wentworth. |
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Kate Chaney
Independent Member of Parliament for Curtin. |
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Zali Steggall MP OAM Independent Member of Parliament for Warringah. |
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Jacqui Scruby MP Independent Member of NSW Parliament for Pittwater. |
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Bridget Archer MP Federal Liberal Member for Bass. |
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Professor Mark Howden Director of the Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions at The Australian National University, Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). |
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Hannah Diviney AACTA nominated actress, author, advocate and writer. |
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Zoe Daniel MP Independent Member of Parliament for Goldstein. |
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Jack Toohey Australian creator, writer and advocate. |
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Anna Lunoe Australian DJ, vocalist, songwriter and producer. |
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Melissa Lucashenko Author and Miles Franklin Prize recipient. |
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Felice Jacka OAM Deakin Distinguished Professor. |
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Carly Dober Founder of Enriching Lives Psychology. |
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Isabella Manfredi Australian singer-songwriter and activist. |
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Luisa Dunn Model and human rights advocate. |
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Yvie Jones Australian TV, radio, film and podcasting personality. |
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NSW Greens Party Sue Higginson, NSW Greens MLC Tamara Smith, NSW Member for Ballina Cate Faehrmann, NSW Greens MLC Jenny Leong, Member for Newtown Abigail Boyd, NSW Greens MLC Amanda Cohn, NSW Greens MLC Kobi Shetty, Member for Balmain |
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Senator Fatima Payman Independent Senator for Western Australia. |
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Lucinda Cowden Australian actress. |
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Emma Jeffcoat Australian Olympian and triathlete. |
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Carly Findlay OAM Writer, speaker, arts worker, appearance activist. |
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Maggie Blanden Palawa woman and advocate for Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty and land rights. |
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Kirsty Webeck Australian comedian and writer. |
Want to Join Us?
Sign the Petition on our website to pledge your support
If you or your organisation would like to be added as a signatory to the open letter and believe your involvement would add significant weight to this initiative, please email [email protected]