We are Generation Justice.
We're young people from all over Australia.
We’re your neighbours, your daughters, sons, nieces, and nephews. We’re the kids you see on the bus, and the faces in university halls.
We are First Nations People and People of Colour. We are disabled and neurodivergent.
We’ve watched our communities suffer while politicians do nothing.
A carefree childhood was taken from us by fires, floods, and extreme heat.
So we went on strike, lobbied at Parliament, spoke to shareholders, and crossed the globe to attend COP and the G20.
We lost the chance to just be kids.
So with our legal team at Environmental Justice Australia, we’ve filed a human rights complaint with the UN to ensure we don’t lose our future too.
ATTICUS
I’m 13 and I live on Larrakia Country in Darwin. I love birdwatching and drawing, and I’m lucky to be surrounded by incredible wildlife.
But it’s hard to enjoy when the coastline’s covered in oil rigs and fossil fuel ships. The heat keeps rising and the government’s not listening to kids like me.
CHRIS
I’m 18, living on Gadigal and Guringai land in Sydney. I’m in year 12, studying remotely to manage my disabilities and pursue my climate activism.
Climate change is upending my life. I’ve felt the damage and danger of bushfires and cyclones firsthand. On top of that, I live with climate anxiety – and the government’s response is making it all worse.
CONNOR
I’m a Larrakia man from Darwin, and climate change is destroying my culture – our seasons are shifting, our traditions are under threat.
Will our land still be there for future generations? That question keeps me up at night. That’s why I’m turning to the UN.
ELIZA
Living on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra, I’ve been navigating life with multiple chronic illnesses since I was 16. But climate change is making life even harder.
Climate change isn’t a distant problem – it’s here, and disabled people are already feeling the worst of it. As someone on the frontline of climate injustice, I’m determined to make our leaders act.
MADDIE
I grew up in one of the driest states on the driest continent – Barngarla Country in Port Lincoln, South Australia.
These days, I live in nipaluna/ Hobart in lutruwita/Tasmania. I often joke that I moved here as a climate refugee, but it’s the truth.
Now I’m fighting for a future where my home and community can survive the climate crisis.
MAYA
Growing up in Sawtell, on the northern coast of NSW on Gumbaynggirr Country, the big moments in my high school years were climate disasters – from the Black Summer bushfires to supercell hailstorms.
I channeled my frustration and anxiety into action. Climate change is terrifying. But losing hope isn’t an option. It’s a cliché, but we genuinely do only have one planet. We must protect it.
RUBY
I’m 21. I grew up in rural Margaret River in WA, where fires and extreme weather shaped my understanding of the climate crisis.
Now I study marine and Antarctic science on palawa land, and I’m watching reefs and kelp forests turn into graveyards. I’m fighting to hold leaders to account before it’s too late.
YEHANSA
I’m 16, from Sydney, and I was born in Sri Lanka. I’ve seen climate impacts firsthand – my family overseas struggle with increased rainfall and extreme heat while Australia fuels the crisis.
Young people have the solutions we need. It’s time for the government to listen, and to act.
ZHANĀE
I’m Zhanāe, 28, and a proud Aboriginal woman living on Darumbal Country. I’ve witnessed climate change damaging my Country and beyond, from my homelands to across the Pacific. It’s threatening the land we rely on and the cultural knowledge we carry.
I’m speaking up because our land, our people, and our future deserve protection – and justice.
OUR LAWYERS
Hannah White and Michaela Vaughan are senior climate lawyers from Environmental Justice Australia, a national public interest legal organisation for a radically better world.
At EJA, they’ve worked on the landmark Living Wonders climate cases, helped First Nations people use the law to defend Country and culture, and taken on the health impacts of coal-fired power stations.
Hannah and Michaela feel very lucky to be lawyers representing Generation Justice.
We are the generation that will face the full impact of the climate crisis – extreme heat, disasters, displacement, and economic turmoil.
But this isn’t a far-off future. It’s happening right now.
We feel it in our communities, in our bodies, in our everyday lives. Climate inaction is violating our rights – to life, health, a safe environment, and culture.
But politicians in suits continue to green-light fossil fuel projects, putting us and our communities at even greater risk.
We’re over it. So, we’re taking this up with the UN.
Climate justice starts with listening to young people and First Nations voices. And ends with the fossil fuel industry.
Together let’s create a better, fairer future.
FIND OUT MORE
NEWS AND UPDATES
Explore the latest media coverage and news about our UN human rights complaint
OUR COMPLAINT
Here's why we’ve filed a human rights complaint with the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change