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The seas are coming for us in Kiribati. Will Australia rehome us?

<p>Our atoll nation is barely two metres above sea level, and the waters are coming for us.</p> <p>Despite the progress and momentum of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, we are still not moving fast enough to avoid the worst of climate change.</p> <p>It is heartening that more than 190 countries and organisations agreed to rapidly phase out coal power and end support for new coal power stations. More than 100 countries signed a pledge to cut methane emissions 30% by the end of the decade, and about the same number agreed to stop deforestation on an industrial scale in the same timeframe.</p> <p>But even with these agreements, we in Kiribati face the death of our homeland. Co-author Anote Tong led our country as president for 15 years, alongside lead author Akka Rimon, who was foreign secretary between 2014 and 2016.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432664/original/file-20211118-13-pb2hli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="man looks at camera in front of the word " /> <span class="caption">Author Anote Tong, when he was Kiribati president, at the Pacific Islands Forum in 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span></p> <p>The problem is speed. Our land is <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7f455136b85f4edd8655d15a89b5039f">disappearing faster</a> than global action can stem climate change. Delays and a lack of global leadership mean the existence of small island states like Kiribati is now in the balance.</p> <p>That means we must urgently find ways to rehome our people. It is very difficult to leave our homes, but there is no choice. Time is not on our side. We must prepare for a difficult future.</p> <p>What we need is a model where displaced people can migrate to host nations when their homes become uninhabitable. Countries like Australia need workers – and we will soon need homes.</p> <p>This is, increasingly, a question of justice. Australia’s actions, in particular, raise questions over how sincere it is in honouring its recent commitments at COP26.</p> <p>As the world’s <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6568957/australia-now-the-worlds-largest-natural-gas-exporter/">largest exporter</a> of fossil gas and the second largest exporter of coal, Australia’s reluctance to change is putting its neighbours in the Pacific at risk of literally disappearing. It is the only developed nation not committed to cut emissions at least in half by 2030.</p> <p>In Glasgow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-australian-way-how-morrison-trashed-brand-australia-at-cop26-171670#:%7E:text=Fijian%20Prime%20Minister%20Frank%20Bainimarama,keep%20faith%20with%20future%20generations%E2%80%9D.">Fiji urged Australia</a> to take real action by halving emissions by 2030. Did it work? No. Australia also refused to sign the agreements on ending coal’s reign, with prominent politicians <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/glasgow-cop26-climate-summit-a-win-for-coal-industry-senator-matt-canavan-says/a0e35fc5-4c31-4d94-9eb4-d4655c8af4ce">undermining the COP26 agreement</a> as soon as the conference was over.</p> <p>We desperately hope the commitments Australia did make at COP26 are not just words on paper. But if they are, that makes our need for certainty even more urgent.</p> <p>Let us speak plainly: If Australia really does plan to sell as much of its fossil fuel reserves as possible and drag its feet on climate action, the least it can do is help us survive the rising seas caused by the burning of its coal and gas.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432566/original/file-20211118-19-o2c6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Satellite image of Tarawa Atoll" /> <span class="caption">Kiribati’s Tarawa Atoll is home to more than half of the island nation’s far-flung population.</span> <span class="attribution"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/50381716376" class="source">European Space Agency, Flickr</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-SA</a></span></p> <h2>To migrate with dignity</h2> <p>Eighteen years ago, the Kiribati government – then headed by Anote Tong – introduced a <a href="https://www.un.org/en/ga/69/meetings/gadebate/pdf/KI_en.pdf">“migration with dignity” policy </a> as a way for I-Kiribati people to adapt to climate change.</p> <p>We gave our I-Kiribati workers international qualifications tailored for jobs in demand overseas. After this, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand <a href="https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/pacific-access-category-resident-visa">set up a scheme</a> to allow workers to migrate to New Zealand if they had an offer of a job. Each year prior to COVID, 75 people from Kiribati were able to migrate through the scheme.</p> <p>New Zealand is the first and only country currently offering a permanent labour migration program from Kiribati. While welcome, we will need more places for I-Kiribati as climate change intensifies.</p> <p>Like New Zealand, Australia has expanded its seasonal worker schemes for Pacific workers, and is now moving towards a longer stay, multi-visa arrangement under its <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/pacific/engagement/pacific-labour-mobility">Pacific Labour Scheme</a>. We expect this scheme will evolve into a permanent migration scheme similar to New Zealand.</p> <p>While we wait in hope for a true safe haven for our people, our diaspora is growing. I-Kiribati are moving now to Pacific countries higher above the water level such as Fiji, the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga.</p> <p>Are we scared? Of course. We are on the front line of this crisis, despite having done amongst the least to cause it. It is difficult to leave the only home we have known. But science does not lie. And we can see the water coming.</p> <p>Labour migration will not solve climate change, but it offers hope to those of us who will be displaced first.</p> <p>This is a vital question of climate justice. This upheaval is caused by high-emitting economic powerhouses like the US, China, and the European Union. But the vulnerable are paying the full cost. That is not fair.</p> <p>As climate change worsens, other global leaders must consider how best to support adaptation through labour mobility. Far better to plan for this now than to let climate change rage unchecked and trigger ever-larger waves of refugees.</p> <h2>The question of climate justice</h2> <p>Consider this: in 2018, each person in Kiribati was responsible for 0.95 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. By contrast, each person in the United States was <a href="https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions?calculation=PER_CAPITA&amp;end_year=2018&amp;regions=KIR%2CUSA&amp;start_year=1990">responsible for 17.7 tonnes</a>. Despite this imbalance, the US has taken little responsibility for what is happening to Kiribati and other low-lying nations.</p> <p>We are hopeful this may change, given US President Joe Biden recently pledged to make his nation a leader in climate finance by supporting nations worst hit by climate change and with the least resources to cope. It’s also encouraging that <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2826">new laws have been proposed</a> to allow people displaced by climate change to live in America.</p> <p>We must work to slash emissions and devise solutions for the problems caused by the warming.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432571/original/file-20211118-13-1w1so2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Sign saying that the highest point on Kiribati's main island is three metres above sea level" /> <span class="caption">The highest point in Kiribati is 3 metres above sea level, with the average less than 2 metres.</span> <span class="attribution"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:As_an_extremely_low-lying_country,_surrounded_by_vast_oceans,_Kiribati_is_at_risk_from_the_negative_effects_of_climate_change,_such_as_sea-level_rise_and_storm_surges,_2011._Photo-_Erin_Magee_-_DFAT_(12426392094).jpg" class="source">Erin Magee, Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a></span></p> <p>International law must recognise climate displaced populations and create ways we can be rehoused.</p> <p>While other solutions such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/10/kiribatis-presidents-plans-to-raise-islands-in-fight-against-sea-level-rise">climate-proofing infrastructure</a> or even floating islands have been proposed for Kiribati, these cannot happen overnight and are very expensive. By contrast, labour mobility is fast and advantageous to the host country.</p> <p>Kiribati’s current government is working to increase skills and employability in our workforce. We are doing our part to get ready for the great dislocation.</p> <p>When I-Kiribati have to migrate, we want them to be able to do so as first class citizens with access to secure futures rather than as climate refugees.</p> <p>We are doing all we can to stay afloat in the years of ever angrier climate change. But it will take the global village to save our small village and keep alive our culture, language, heritage, spirits, land, waters and above all, our people.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172137/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/akka-rimon-1290725">Akka Rimon</a>, PhD Student, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anote-tong-1292095">Anote Tong</a>, Distinguished Global Leader-in-Residence, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pennsylvania-1017">University of Pennsylvania</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-seas-are-coming-for-us-in-kiribati-will-australia-rehome-us-172137">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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Adorable koalas rehomed after over-eating trees

<p><span>Over 90 koalas have settled nicely into their new home after they ate all of their food sources in parts of Victoria. </span></p> <p><span>The marsupials were bundled into washing baskets and crates by wildlife rescuers, to be released into their new home in the Great Otway National Park, off the Great Ocean Road.</span></p> <p><span>54 female koalas also received fertility control in order to slow population growth, during the relocation.</span></p> <p><span><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842328/koalas.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/086991c842e4458582969b2792c50ce1" /></span></p> <p><em>Images: Yahoo Australia</em></p> <p><span>Victoria's environment department (DELWP) only allowed 32 koalas to remain on site, however a total of 46 male and 46 female koalas were trucked to the nearby land north of Lorne. </span></p> <p><span> </span><span>They have been distributed throughout the land in lower numbers.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>DELWP has moved koalas in the region to avoid over-browsing of their favourite food, manna gums for six years.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>“It’s encouraging to see the manna gum trees at Cape Otway starting to recover – they’re in their best condition in ten years, with foliage returning and new saplings starting to grow,” a DELWP spokesperson said.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>“The health of the koala population is tracking well, much better than in previous years when the koalas had significantly depleted their food source, by stripping many manna gum trees of their leaves.”</span></p>

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Mummy blogger who "rehomed" adopted autistic son speaks out after backlash

<p><span>The mummy blogger who “rehomed” her adopted son has been dumped by multiple brand deals after receiving huge backlash for the decision.</span></p> <p><span>Myka Stauffer was heavily criticised after revealing she and husband James had given up their son Huxley, four.</span></p> <p><span>The couple said the decision came after discovering he had “medical needs” that they weren’t aware of when they adopted him from China in 2017.</span></p> <p><span>Soon after justifying their decision, Stauffer defended their decision, saying her former son – who has autism and is non-verbal – “wanted” a new home and hinted at problems between him and their four other kids. </span></p> <p><span>Now, many brands have chosen to drop Stauffer.</span></p> <p><span>Stauffer who has a following of 162,000 on Instagram and 700,000 on YouTube, had formed partnerships with big-name companies like Big Lots, TJ Maxx and Danimals yoghurt.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4S4hBJgwI_/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4S4hBJgwI_/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">My favorite Starbucks barista 🧜🏻‍♀️☕️ You hold such a special place in my heart sweet boy! 💚#happyhalloween #halloween2019 #halloweencostume</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mykastauffer/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Myka Stauffer</a> (@mykastauffer) on Oct 31, 2019 at 12:54pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>But according to </span><em>People</em><span>, many have dumped the mummy blogger over the incident.</span></p> <p><span>Stauffer hit a second wave of backlash when she responded to a critic in the comments section of her video titled “an update on our family”.</span></p> <p><span>“We would never just give up a child with special needs, this is a personal matter to Hux. It had nothing to do with he just had Autism,” Stauffer wrote, defending the backlash.</span></p> <p><span>“Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children, and if these events happened with one of my biological kids, after all the help and after the behaviours we witnessed sadly we would have no other choice then to seek help and get their needs met.”</span></p> <p><span>She goes on to say Huxley “wanted this decision 100%” explaining she “saw” it when he was with his new “family” as the child was not able to communicate with speech.</span></p> <p><span>“He constantly chose them and signed and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this,” she said.</span></p> <p><span>However, not many were convinced, branding the defence as “disgusting”.</span></p> <p><span>“Oh yes. Non-verbal Huxley told you I don’t want to live with you guys no more send me to these strangers so that I can be traumatised even more in my little life,” one wrote.</span></p> <p><span>“It’s so disgusting. Why adopt a child you knew was going to have problems just to toss them away?” another said.</span></p> <p><span>“OMG she’s so delusional,” one scoffed.</span></p> <p><span>While one said: “Obviously having a child with disabilities is incredibly challenging and can certainly present difficulties with other children but to say that this kid is some kind of sinister, dangerous figure is so irresponsible.”</span></p> <p><span>Some of Stauffer’s subscribers accused her of using Huxley solely to gain a bigger following and earn more money on her YouTube channel.</span></p> <p><span>Some declared the decision “awful” for both Huxley and the pair’s four other children: Kova, Jaka, Radley and Onyx.</span></p> <p><span>“@MykaStauffer adopted an autistic child from China and after years of having him, she gave him up for adoption because he had ‘bad behaviour’ after using him for $$$ on her YouTube channel,” wrote one user.</span></p> <p><span>“What Myka Stauffer and her husband did is awful. You don’t just give a child back … “ one tweeted.</span></p> <p><span>“She adopted a child for views and then got rid of him and treated him like a brand deal,” another said.</span></p> <p><span>There are even calls to have the family’s sponsors pulled, with angry internet justice seekers calling to #cancelstauffers.</span></p> <p><span>In the video where the Stauffer’s talk about “rehoming” Huxley, the pair said the child had autism and brain damage.</span></p> <p><span>“Numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit. He needed more,” Stauffer says while fighting back tears in the video filmed in the couple’s bed.</span></p> <p><span>She added that an adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his “forever family.”</span></p> <p><span>“He’s thriving, he’s doing really well, and his new mummy has medical, professional training,” she added.</span></p>

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