According to a new poll released by Save the Children, four out of five Australians would support a national representative in Federal Government to stand up for the rights of children.

Save the Children is now calling for a national children's commissioner to be established. This will push children's rights higher up on the national agenda, and work towards improving the wellbeing of children and young people.

Dr Annie Pettitt, Child Rights Specialist for Save the Children Australia, says:

A national children's commissioner would ensure that children and young people exercise their right to voice their opinions, be listened to and taken seriously.

Nearly 1200 people were surveyed about children's rights, to mark the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (November 20). Their findings include:

• 78 per cent of Australians polled would like to see a role in Federal Government for a person who stands up for the rights of children and young people.
• 85 per cent of Australians polled believe that children and young people should be consulted in major decisions that affect their lives.
• 47 per cent of Australians polled believe the views of children in their family or in the community do not have equal value to those of adults.

Save the Children says a national children's commissioner will be able to 'work with and improve co-ordination between the existing state and territory children's commissions to better represent all Australian children'.

Dr Pettitt went on to say:

'The Australian Government must listen to children to effectively tackle issues such as child abuse, poverty and teenage homelessness … A national children's commissioner would provide a voice for children at a national level to ensure their opinions are heard and their human rights respected.'

Did you like this article? Share it with others online!  - What does this mean?               You can subscribe to ECA's early childhood news feed here Learn more about RSS news feeds If you liked this article, you can 'social bookmark' it with others who might be searching for good content on early childhood. This means you can share your favourite webpages with others, or just keep an online list of your bookmarks so you can access them on any computer. Read more about social bookmarks More about digg>> More about del.icio.us>> More about google>>    More about yahoo>> More about stumbleupon>> More about reddit>> Close this window