First climate migrants from Tuvalu arrive in Australia

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00:01It's one of the smallest and most remote nations in the world, with some areas measuring just

00:0820 metres in width. Tuvalu could soon disappear underwater as the Pacific Ocean eats away

00:15at its shores.

00:19Threatened by climate change, one-third of Tuvaluans have applied for a climate visa

00:24to Australia. This follows the 2023 signing of a first-of-its-kind treaty that grants them

00:30a right to live, study and work there. Among the first climate refugees to have obtained

00:36the visa is Tuvalu's first female forklift driver.

00:42I felt happy and excited when I learned about the opportunity because it made me think about

00:47the future and the new pathway it could create for my life, living in Australia for the betterment

00:52of my future.

00:54Messina is a dentist and will also move with her seafarer husband and three children to

00:59the Australian city of Darwin, where she hopes to work with indigenous communities and, if

01:05possible, visit her home.

01:07I was really excited to go there to help out the people, to serve, to alleviate suffering

01:12and pain. I can always bring whatever I learned new from Australia back to my home country.

01:18But the intake is limited to 280 visas annually to avoid a drastic drop in the island's crucial

01:25skills and expertise. But there is a profound urgency, as scientists warn that by 2050, key

01:32atolls like Funafuti, home to 60 per cent of residents, could be 50 to 90 per cent submerged.

01:40Australia is launching support services in Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland to help Tuvaluan families

01:46settle down, with Australia's foreign minister noting that the climate refugees would contribute

01:51to Australian society.

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