This morning, Torres Strait 8 claimants erected a ‘seawall’ on the laws of Parliament to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on their home.
The Torres Strait is at the forefront of climate change. Communities are seeing the impacts right now, as Parliament sits.
Locals have noticed that the winds have changed, seas are rising, and storms are worse. Climate change has also destroyed a graveyard which held the graves of their ancestors. Locals have spoken of collecting their father’s father’s bones “like seashells” from the reef after they washed away.
We must do more to protect the Torres Strait and our Pacific Island neighbours. Australia must lead the charge to stop rising sea levels and curb emissions, and that must include no new coal and gas.