Australia to offer residency to Tuvalu citizens displaced by global heating

Australia will offer residency to people affected by the climate crisis in the low-lying Pacific nation of Tuvalu as part of a new treaty announced yesterday that also locks the two countries into close security ties.

- Daniel Hurst, Josh Butler 

At a time when many Pacific leaders are pressing Australia to take stronger action against its fossil fuel sector, the treaty explicitly recognises the vulnerability of Tuvalu to rising sea levels.

Tuvalu is a country of nine islands in the central Pacific, about halfway between Australia and Hawaii, with a population of about 11,200.

Australia will offer up to 280 people access to permanent residency each year, but it has also promised to help the citizens of Tuvalu "stay in their homes with safety and dignity".

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the deal would cement his country's status as Tuvalu's "security partner of choice" by offering it a form of security guarantee.