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| Australia –Tuvalu Falepili Union |
The arrangement will offer a special visa that offers safe residency to the people of Tuvalu so they can work, live and study in Australia because of the impacts of climate change.
The agreement was made at the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands. It will see 280 people per year given a "special mobility pathway" to "live, work and study" in Australia. Tuvalu is a low lying Pacific nation with about 11,000 people.
In return, Australia will have effective veto power over Tuvalu's security arrangements with any other country.
The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union comprises a bilateral treaty between Tuvalu and Australia, as well as a commitment articulated in a joint leaders' statement (see below) to uplift broader bilateral partnership.
"Falepili" is a Tuvaluan word for the traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect.
The Treaty comes as the Queensland government approved new fossil fuel projects: incentivised a new frontier in gas exploration program in the Bowen and Galilee Basin and granted a coal mine extension. Since the Federal Labor Government has come to power it has approved 10 new or extended coal and gas projects, and committed $1.5 billion for the Darwin Middlearm petrochemical hub that will include an LNG plant for export of Beetaloo fracked Gas.
What the Treaty covers
The Treaty covers three main areas of cooperation: climate change, human mobility and security.
Under the new Treaty:
- Australia commits to provide assistance to Tuvalu in response to a major natural disaster, health pandemics and military aggression.
- To allow for effective operation of Australia's security guarantee, both countries commit to mutually agree any partnership, arrangement or engagement with any other State or entity on security and defence-related matters in Tuvalu.
- And Australia will establish a dedicated intake – known as a special mobility pathway – to allow Tuvaluans to come to Australia to live, work and study. There will be an initial cap of 280 Tuvaluans eligible per year. With a population of just over 11,000 people, Tuvalu is extremely vulnerable to the impact of climate change, especially rising sea levels, and is trying to preserve its culture, traditions and land.
As well, Australia will support Tuvalu's climate adaptation interests, including additional funding for the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project which will expand Funafuti's land by around 6 per cent, to help Tuvaluans live and thrive at home and preserve their culture.
At the press conference Prime Minister Kausea Natano said:
"Tuvalu initiated and submitted a request to your Government to establish the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, following a considered process led by an eminent persons group. This special arrangement, the Australia-Tuval Falepili Union, is framed around the local concept of Falepili, which describes our Pacific and traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect. It is within this Falepili concept, in the face of climate change and its unique geography and economy, that the Government of Tuvalu initiated and submitted a request to the Government of Australia for a more elevated bilateral partnership. This means that we would enter a Treaty that guide us to respect each other's sovereignty, commit us to safeguard and support each other as we face the existence of threat of climate change and geostrategic challenges. To commit Australia to establish a special visa arrangement to allow Tuvaluans to work, study and live in Australia and, of course, other provisions."
He concluded by thanking Australia in this groundbreaking treaty that provides a pathway for Tuvaluans to resettle in Australia:
"Our cooperation is not merely about ink on paper. It is about building enduring bridges of friendship, solitarity and cooperation that will stand the test of time. The Falepili Union is a testament to the spirit of international partnership and together we shall write a story of progress, resilience and shared prosperity."
Prime Minister Albanese thanked Kausea Natano for his leadership in initiating the treaty and called it the "most significant agreement between Australia and a Pacific island nation ever."
"Quite clearly, this is a groundbreaking agreement and the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union will be regarded as a significant day in which Australia acknowledged that we are part of the Pacific family, that with that comes responsibility to act to a gracious request from our friends in Tuvalu and step up the relationship between our two nations. This comprises a bilateral Treaty between Tuvalu and Australia, as well as a commitment in a joint leaders' statement to uplift our broader bilateral partnership."
Details of the treaty negotiations were kept under wraps. Prime Minister Albanese particularly paid tribute Minister Patrick Conroy and the negotiations team.
Other support commitments that Albanese announced included:
- $350 million in climate infrastructure for the region, including $75 million for a program for off grid and community scale renewable energy in remote and rural parts of the Pacific.
- Australia will contribute to the new Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific built trust fund that will be established to invest in small scale climate and disaster resilient projects just for the Pacific,
- make a contribution to the Green Climate Fund.
Joint Statement by Tuvalu and Australian Prime Ministers
Today, we, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu and the Prime Minister of Australia, are pleased to announce an elevation of our bilateral relationship to a more advanced, integrated and comprehensive partnership – the Falepili Union.
Falepili is a Tuvaluan word for the traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect. These are the values that underpin our partnership and guide our commitments to each other.
Tuvalu faces special and unique challenges which are already exacerbated by the effects of climate change. It is geographically remote, has a fragmented landmass, and a scarcity of natural resources.
Driven by these challenges, Tuvalu commissioned eminent Tuvaluans to undertake a comprehensive examination of partnership options to protect and promote its interests and ensure its continued sovereignty. Following this examination, the Tuvalu Government formally requested Australia consider elevating our bilateral partnership, through transformational and durable arrangements, to safeguard the future of Tuvalu's people, identity and culture.
Respect and support for each other's sovereignty lies at the heart of our Falepili Union. The Falepili concept recognises the importance of collective sovereignty, whereby a country's actions can impact on its neighbours. Each member of the neighbourhood has a duty to care for and protect its neighbours.
We have today signed a new bilateral Treaty to give effect to our closer relationship. This embodies our commitment to the collective stewardship of the Blue Pacific continent. We believe in Pacific sovereignty, with the Pacific Islands Forum leading the region in the Pacific way, guided by the 2050 Strategy. Our Falepili Union will better position us to play our part in a shared Pacific that is peaceful, safe and prosperous.
Through our Falepili Union, we will count on each other to support the aspirations and wellbeing of our peoples.
We know there is no prosperity without security and that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of Tuvalu. Australia will support Tuvalu's efforts to enable its people to continue to live and thrive in their territory and retain Tuvalu's deep, ancestral connections to land and sea.
That is why we will extend our partnership through expansion of the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project to reclaim land in Funafuti. This project will expand Funafuti's land by around six per cent – creating vital space for new housing and essential services for Tuvaluans, and enabling people to remain living in Tuvalu in the face of sea-level rise. We call on others to join us in supporting Tuvalu's long-term adaptation vision.
At the same time, we believe the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts worsen. Australia has committed to provide a special pathway for citizens of Tuvalu to come to Australia, with access to Australian services that will enable human mobility with dignity.
Consistent with the Boe Declaration's expanded concept of security, Australia will continue to provide assistance to Tuvalu in response to major natural disasters, health pandemics and in the event of traditional security threats to Tuvalu. This reflects our understanding that as Pacific countries our interests are intertwined and decisions taken by one can affect the interests of the other.
Under the Falepili Union, we commit to continuing to work closely together to support Tuvalu's development needs, including through our bilateral development programs, and Australia's regional programs, budget support and contributions to Tuvalu's Trust Fund. We will jointly explore opportunities to build capability in Tuvalu, including through collaborations regarding government services and regulation, and support key infrastructure, recognising its important role in economic development.
We recognise that mutual respect and openness with our Pacific family builds trust and understanding. In that spirit, we commit to transparency and engagement on the Falepili Union.
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Background video from ABC News (9 November 2023) on the issues of Pacific Island Forum:
References:
ABC News, 10 November 2023, Anthony Albanese offers Tuvalu residents the right to resettle in Australia, as climate change 'threatens its existence' https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-10/tuvalu-residents-resettle-australia-sea-levels-climate-change/103090070
Australian Prime Minister, Joint Statement, 10 November, 2023, https://www.pm.gov.au/media/joint-statement-falepili-union-between-tuvalu-and-australia
Australian Prime Minister, Transcript of media conference, 10 November, 2023 https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-rarotonga-cook-islands
Australian Prime Minister, Media Release, 10 November, 2023 https://www.pm.gov.au/media/strengthening-regional-ties-through-pacific-islands-forum
Image Of Tuvalu and Australian Prime Minister holding the Treaty Coutesy of Anthony Albanese Facebook Page
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