For these Torres Strait Islanders, climate change is already here — and they're urging the government to do more
ABCFor generations, Indigenous Australians have thrived on the islands in the Torres Strait – but rising sea levels, more extreme weather and coastal erosion are devouring some of the 17 inhabited islands in the region and threatening their way of life. "If this happens, we'll be climate change refugees in our own country," Torres Strait Islander Kabay Tamu told 7.30. In a statement to 7.30, Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said the Morrison Government is "confident its climate change policies are consistent with international human rights obligations" and are "committed to providing infrastructure supports to Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people in the Torres Strait." "Geographic circumstances heighten the Torres Strait region's vulnerability to several climate change threats … the government is aware of the risks and is helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities build their resilience and prepare for the impacts of climate change." In 2019, this group of Torres Strait Islanders asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison to come and see the impacts of climate change on the Torres Strait for himself — but the PM declined the invitation.
History of this topic
Saibai Island waits for a climate change lifeline as rising Torres Strait closes in
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Australia climate change inaction violated islanders’ rights: UN
Al Jazeera
Climate crisis: Australian islanders say homes being ‘eaten away’ by rising sea levels
The IndependentTorres Strait leaders want tighter border controls as coronavirus cases rise in Papua New Guinea
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