Tuvalu to revisit deal that gives Australia control of island nation’s security agreements

Tuvalu’s new government supports the ‘broad principles and objectives’ of the Tuvalu-Australia Falepili Union but has questioned an ‘absence of transparency’. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

Tuvalu’s new government has questioned the “absence of transparency” in a security and migration pact the country signed with Australia last November, throwing the landmark deal into doubt.

While the government expressed support for the “broad principles and objectives” of the Tuvalu-Australia Falepili Union in a “statement of priorities” posted to X by member of parliament Simon Kofe, it also acknowledged “the absence of transparency and consultations in socializing and informing the public in Tuvalu of such an important and groundbreaking initiative”.