In a suburban cream-brick church in Melbourne’s outer west, 5000 kilometres from a homeland facing extinction, the mellifluous voices of a congregation of Tuvaluans rise in song.This Sunday afternoon service at Melton Baptist Church is a thread that connects the Tuvaluan diaspora in Melbourne to their homeland, a tiny country in the South Pacific Ocean that many see as the canary in the climate change mine.
“We know Tuvalu didn’t cause the climate crisis, but you are on the front lines of its devastating impact,” Wong said.Others raised concerns about a brain drain and criticised a controversial clause that would give Australia veto powers over Tuvalu’s security and defence deals with third countries. She is a lawyer from Tuvalu’s capital, Funafuti, a thin strip of land with the Pacific Ocean on one side and Te Namo Lagoon on the other.As a child Paeniu used to swim in the Funafuti Airport airstrip every February after the king tides.
Tuvalu is among only 11 countries that has formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Australia is aware this could change quickly, after Nauru switched alliances to China in January. Sensitive to the complaints over the lack of public consultation, Teo promised an education campaign to ensure “people fully understand the treaty” before it was ratified.
Falepili visa holders will also get access to many of the same entitlements as citizens – Medicare, higher education loans and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. But Howes believes migration is necessary for Tuvalu’s future – as it is for any country. It would allow Tuvaluans to study and gain skills in Australia, some of whom would return for work, retirement or family reasons.There is a risk low-skilled migrants will face poverty in Australia due to the high cost of housing and living, Howes says, but he points out Tuvaluans have a long history of migration to New Zealand.
But the government is also making plans for the worst-case scenario – an entirely uninhabitable environment. In 2022, it announced plans to become theBy archiving its culture online – from bird species to the scores of the national volleyball team – the project explores how Tuvalu can exist as a nation even after its land is no more.
Without a land of their own, Batley says it is unclear whether other nations would recognise Tuvalu’s sovereignty. “We keep that up for the children to see what we do culturally,” says Keleta Avene, the deputy of the Tuvalu community in Brisbane.