Australia might suspend oil talks with East Timor

[dArKeR]

Australia's foreign minister threatened yesterday to suspend talks with East Timor on disputed multibillion-dollar Timor Sea gas and oil fields, saying the opposition Labor Party had politicized the issue.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer accused Labor leader Mark Latham of acting irresponsibly by saying last week that he would start fresh negotiations with East Timor if elected in national elections expected later this year.

The long-running negotiations have strained Australia's relations with East Timor, which wants a greater share of oil revenues, and Downer said Latham had "lurched into" the issue at a delicate stage to score political points.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/07/26/2003180529

[Djinn]

1. Hardly any Australians would support the Howard govt

in relation to this issue - even the neo-right and especially older conservatives. Most Australian understand the debt we owed to the Timorese and that we paid that back by ignoring the brutality of the Indonesian army and helping ourselves to their oil/gas.

When we finally got behind the East Timorese (after refusing to do so until AFTER the referendum all the while knowing there would be a slaughter by Indonesian supplied and/or supported militia's)

The ALP had the shame of constantly go along with the Indonesian occupation of Timor, the Liberals have this revolting attempt to steal valuable resources from people who need it much more than we do. Under international law the oil/gas revenues belong to Timor.

[struggle4progress]

2. Sounds to me like Latham is doing the right thing. Timor ...

has been screwed -- and the current government is giggling about it.

[bemildred]

3. Stall, stall, stall.

OZ voters need to suspend Downer.

[Matilda]

4. Hopefully, we will, and soon.

n/t

[bemildred]

5. May the force be with you.

:thumbsup:

[struggle4progress]

6. kick

:kick: