East Timor Warned to Wait
Critics have warned East Timor to be cautious of expecting a better deal from a future Latham Labor government, as its dispute with Australia over oil revenues continues. That’s according to The Australia East Timor Association, which says both major parties have a poor record on policies relating to Timor. The comments come as talks between the two countries over the fate of the Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement remain stalled, following threats by the Howard Government, that it would call off talks until after the federal election. Mr Howard claims Labor has “undermined Australia’ s national interest” by declaring that if it won office, it would restart negotiations with East Timor over royalties that will be derived from oil fields in the Timor Sea. The issue has also been complicated by Woodside Petroleum’s comments that unless a deal is struck this year, it will pull out of the project. Erica Vowles spoke with the Shadow Minister for Energy, Joel Fitzgibbons; East Timor Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta; and Stephen Langford from the Australia East Timor Association.