Copenhagen Accord disappoints

The Redfern resident and third-generation South Sea Islander was a member of the Pacific Calling Partnership delegation and said the negotiations were unsuccessful, because they failed to protect those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

“Kevin Rudd has more than underperformed by failing to defend the rights of the Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders and South Sea Islanders that have had their lives made poorer and more wretched as a consequence of climate change,” Ms Corowa said.

“Climate change compounds all its worst effects in the Torres Strait and soon some of the islands will be uninhabitable and vulnerable families will have to move away from the islands that define their distinct traditions, cultures and identities.”

Australia’s closest neighbours may be the most threatened by climate change but they were also the most forgotten during the two-week conference, according to Ms Corowa.

“King tides are causing salinity of ancient fresh water wells, the erosion of beaches used for food and materials and the desecration of burial and sacred sites, yet these islands are still largely ignored by the Government.”

The 70-year-old grandmother of one pushed the human face of climate change during plenary sessions of the summit and argued for a legally binding agreement limiting temperature rise to one-and-a-half per cent.

She said the Federal Government pressured low-lying Pacific islands to sign the Copenhagen Accord, which is unenforceable and allows temperatures to rise to two degrees. “The Government has bullied other countries and turned climate justice into a political and economic playing field where decisions are based on self interest rather than a concern for human rights.”

Ms Corowa has been an activist since she was 10 years old and said she has no plans for giving up the fight for climate justice. “It took us many years to get a referendum to allow Indigenous Australians to be citizens and to get recognition for South Sea Islanders and many more for the Mabo case to overturn the concept of terra nullius.

All governments are very slow learners,” she said.

Ms Corowa has already started campaigning to allow a delegation of Torres Strait Islanders to attend the Government sessions of the 2016 UN climate talks in Mexico.

Source: South Sydney Herald February 2010 www.southsydneyherald.com.au