Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vows to protect tiny Pacific island from attack, climate change

Protection of islanders fleeing a tiny nation at risk of sinking from climate change and in the firing line of military aggression was the most important deal since the agreement to support Pupua New Guinea, said the Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has labelled Australia’s new migration and security treaty with Tuvalu as the most significant deal struck in the Pacific since Australia support the independence of Papua New Guinea.

“(It is) the most important step any Australian government has taken in the pacific since the independence of Papua New Guinea,” she said on Insiders.

“It’s about Australia saying to the region and to Tuvalu that we are a genuine and reliable partner.”

Ms Wong said Australia had to “work harder” to be the partner of choice in the Pacific as deals in the region became more attractive to China.

Earlier, the Daily Telegraph reporter islanders fleeing a tiny nation at risk of sinking from climate change and in the firing line of military aggression will be protected by Australia — with up to 280 people given the right to live, work and study here each year.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong backed the move to support Tuvalu. Picture: Lisa Marie David

Signalling the first signs of what experts say is being presented as “climate refugees”— Tuvalu residents will be able to apply for a special visa category in addition to existing visas under a “groundbreaking” new treaty struck by the Albanese government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the agreement was initiated by Tuvalu and approved by the Commonwealth given the island’s unique climate change risk.

In the pair’s meeting at the start of the Pacific Islands Forum in Rarotonga, Tuvalu leader Kausea Natano said his nation was at risk of sinking if climate change is not controlled.

Tuvalu, which was approached by China for diplomatic relations but has a longstanding relationship with Taiwan, will also be assisted by Australian troops if they request support with the complex security situation in the region.

Treaty documents revealed that the new visa holders will be able to access key income and family support on arrival — making the conditions similar to a refugee visa or permanent residency over many student or skills based visas. The new initiatives are expected to come into play from July 1 next year.

Anthony Albanese meeting with Prime Minister Natano of Tuvalu, President Maamau of Kiribati, and Prime Minister Brown of Cook Islands, in the Cook Islands. Picture: @Albo MP/X

Mr Albanese said the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union was “without doubt the most significant agreement between Australia and a Pacific nation ever”.

“This is a significant day in which Australia acknowledges that we are part of the Pacific family and with that comes responsibility…to step up the relationship between our two nations.”

Mr Natano added: “It is about building enduring bridges of friendship, solidarity and cooperation that will stand the test of time.”

He assured Australians Tuvalu would ensure the system was not abused and people with a “genuine need” were being welcomed into Australia.

On the defence front, Mr Albanese said Australia will not interfere in Tuvalu’s diplomatic relationships with Taiwan or China but the Commonwealth will guarantee that on the request of military assistance from Tuvalu, “Australia will be there”.

Support will also be provided to Tuvalu if it endures another health pandemic like

Covid-19.

While Tuvalu was chosen for its “unique” climate crisis, Mr Albanese said he was open to more agreements with other pacific nations.

Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge said the idea was being presented as “climate refugees” but would benefit from being pitched to the Australian public as a savvy economic deal with the added benefits of climate change and military security in the Pacific against China.

“We should not be designing it as some kind of climate change refugee program,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“They (the governments) are pitching it as people may not be able to live on Tuvalu because of climate change, that sounds like a climate refugee to me.

“I do think that the Australian government is under so much pressure over climate change from the South Pacific, that’s why it’s being presented that way…presenting it as climate change is going to cause division in Australia.”

China’s growing influence also hung over the five-day forum.

“China’s push into the region is a really obvious problem regardless of the smiles and photos in Beijing just now,” Mr Shoebridge said.

He argued the government would benefit from focusing on the economic benefits of the treaty.

“These small Pacific economies aren’t sustainable economic entities by themselves, there aren’t jobs and livelihoods and at the same time Australia has enormous workforce gaps in things like aged care, health care and farming.

“We know South Pacific people are fantastic people in all those sectors. We need to solve each other’s problems.”

While the PM agreed to Tuvalu’s request for a treaty, he wasn’t united with the Pacific on all fronts, saying there was no agreement that an anti-nuclear treaty governing the region would be reopened.

The treaty risks complicating Australia’s AUKUS submarine deal.

Mr Albanese’s comments were in contrast to Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka who said: “That was raised today and we all agreed that it had been going since 1986, it’s time for it to be reviewed.”

The Prime Minister left the Cook Islands on Friday night.

The next Pacific Islands Forum is set to be held in Tonga and will be crucial to the PM leading into the next election.