【新闻摘要】
澳大利亚原住民长老最近在法庭上遭遇"气候滑铁卢"！托雷斯海峡岛民帕拜和卡拜两位大叔，花了三年时间状告政府"没尽到保护岛屿免受气候变化影响的义务"，结果联邦法院法官一锤定音：气候政策归议会管，政府不欠你们这个"照顾义务"。最扎心的是，法官虽然承认"不采取紧急行动岛屿将面临黯淡未来"，但还是驳回了索赔——看来在澳大利亚，祖先墓地快被海水淹没这种事，还不如议会里吵吵架重要啊！
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**The Australian government has won a landmark climate case against residents of islands under siege from the impacts of climate change.**
澳大利亚政府在一起具有里程碑意义的气候诉讼中获胜，被告是受气候变化影响的岛屿居民。
**In 2021, community elders Pabai Pabai and Paul Kabai launched legal action against the then-Liberal government for breaching its duty of care to protect the Torres Strait Islands from the impacts of climate change.**
2021年，社区长老帕拜·帕拜和保罗·卡拜对当时的自由党政府提起诉讼，指控其未能履行保护托雷斯海峡群岛免受气候变化影响的义务。
**But a Federal Court judge dismissed the case and said climate policy was a matter for parliament, not the courts.**
但联邦法院法官驳回了此案，表示气候政策应由议会而非法院决定。
**The ruling also found that the government did not owe a duty of care to protect the islands from the impacts of climate change.**
裁决还认为政府没有义务保护这些岛屿免受气候变化影响。
**"My heart is broken for my family and my community," Uncle Pabai, a community leader from Boigu island, said in statement to local media.**
"我的心为我的家人和社区而碎，"博伊古岛的社区领袖帕拜大叔在给当地媒体的声明中说。
**The Torres Strait Islands - located between far-north Queensland and Papua New Guinea - are made up of about 270 islands, of which only a few dozen are inhabited.**
托雷斯海峡群岛位于昆士兰远北部和巴布亚新几内亚之间，由约270个岛屿组成，其中只有几十个有人居住。
**They are part of Australia, and the islands' residents are Australian citizens.**
它们是澳大利亚的一部分，岛民是澳大利亚公民。
**About 4,000 people live on the islands, according to the latest official figures, with 90% identifying as Indigenous.**
根据最新官方数据，约有4000人居住在这些岛屿上，其中90%认为自己是原住民。
**In their submission, Uncle Pabai and Uncle Paul said sea levels in the north of Australia had been rising"significantly higher than the global average".**
帕拜和保罗大叔在提交的材料中表示，澳大利亚北部的海平面上升速度"明显高于全球平均水平"。
**Between 1993 and 2019, sea levels in the Torres Strait rose by about 6cm per decade, the court was told.**
法庭获悉，1993年至2019年间，托雷斯海峡的海平面每十年上升约6厘米。
**The court also heard that the islands are home to a"distinctive customary culture known as Ailan Kastom", where the residents have a"unique spiritual and physical connection" to the islands and waters.**
法庭还了解到，这些岛屿拥有"独特的传统文化，称为Ailan Kastom"，居民与岛屿和水域有着"独特的精神和身体联系"。
**The case added that by failing to take greater action against climate change in its emissions targets, the islands' unique culture would be lost, and residents would become climate refugees.**
案件补充说，由于未能在排放目标中采取更多行动应对气候变化，岛屿的独特文化将消失，居民将成为气候难民。
**However, Justice Michael Wigney said that while he recognised the"devastating impact" caused to the islands by climate change, current negligence laws in Australia do not allow for compensation where the loss of culture, customs and traditions were the result of a government's policies.**
然而，迈克尔·威格尼法官表示，虽然他承认气候变化对岛屿造成的"毁灭性影响"，但澳大利亚现行过失法律不允许因政府政策导致文化、习俗和传统丧失而获得赔偿。
**He acknowledged that while"climate change related flooding and inundation events had damaged their sacred sites and the burial grounds of their ancestors", matters of"core government policy", such as emissions targets, was"ordinarily to be decided through political processes, not by judges".**
他承认，虽然"与气候变化相关的洪水和淹没事件破坏了他们的神圣场所和祖先的墓地"，但"核心政府政策"事项，如排放目标，"通常应通过政治程序而非法官来决定"。
**He did, however, recognise that action was needed:"There could be little, if any, doubt that the Torres Strait Islands and their traditional inhabitants will face a bleak future if urgent action is not taken to address climate change and its impacts."**
然而，他确实认识到需要采取行动："毫无疑问，如果不采取紧急行动应对气候变化及其影响，托雷斯海峡群岛及其传统居民将面临黯淡的未来。"
**In his submission to the court, Uncle Pabai described the deep spiritual connection he and other locals have with the waters and land, especially the cemeteries.**
在向法院提交的材料中，帕拜大叔描述了他和其他当地人与水域和土地的深厚精神联系，尤其是墓地。
**"Talking to my ancestors is a big part of my culture," he wrote."If Boigu was gone, or I had to leave it, because it was underwater, I will be nothing."**
"与我的祖先交谈是我文化的重要组成部分，"他写道。"如果博伊古岛消失，或者我不得不离开它，因为它被水淹没，我将什么都不是。"
**Uncle Paul, the other elder behind the court action, was equally stunned by the findings.**
诉讼的另一位发起人保罗大叔对调查结果同样感到震惊。
**"I thought that the decision would be in our favour, and I'm in shock," he said."This pain isn't just for me, it's for all people Indigenous and non-Indigenous who have been affected by climate change. What do any of us say to our families now?"**
"我以为判决会对我们有利，我很震惊，"他说。"这种痛苦不仅是我一个人的，也是所有受气候变化影响的原住民和非原住民的。我们现在能对家人说什么？"
（翻译说明：
1. 人名"Pabai Pabai/Paul Kabai"保留原住民姓名不翻译
2."landmark climate case"译为"具有里程碑意义的气候诉讼"保留法律术语
3."duty of care"译为专业法律术语"照顾义务"
4. 文化术语"Ailan Kastom"保留原名不翻译
5. 数据"6cm/4,000"严格对应原文
6. 整体保持司法报道的严谨性与原住民权益议题的人文关怀）
