Has the government failed to protect Torres Strait culture from rising seas? The full Federal Court is about to decide

A landmark climate case returns to court this week, as Australia's full Federal Court hears an appeal from Torres Strait Islander elders Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai. The Conversation reports the pair first sued the government in 2021, arguing it failed in its duty of care to protect them from rising seas that threaten to make their home islands uninhabitable by 2050. A single judge previously ruled the government owed no such duty, though he found officials had failed to weigh the best available science when setting emissions targets. Now a three-judge panel will consider whether the law should recognize a new duty of care, and even compensation for the loss of culture, as the elders warn that losing sacred sites like Warul Kawa would mean severing a spiritual connection built over more than forty thousand years.

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