Australia/East Timor Boundary Dispute

[Mr Flibble]

Australia/East Timor Boundary Dispute

It seems that the Australian government is trying to claim more than its fair share of the oil in the Timor Sea. The fact that we refused to go to an international court seems to indicate to me that the government knows we don't have a leg to stand on, and the border should be halfway between Timor and Australia. What I don't get is why we can't be generous to this new independent nation that we helped to set up. We are already a wealthy country and they are porr, we should damn well let them have the oil. The saddest thing is that this stupid dispute is destroying a lot of the goodwill towards Australia that we had generated in East Timor.

It is also causing the nagging thought in the back of my mid, that the only reason we went in there in the first place was for the oil. Maybe Howard is more like Bush than I originall thought.

Our actions here, our treatment of refugees nd our involvement in the Iraq war, our foreign policy is starting to look like a carbon copy of the USA's.

Howard has to go, before he turns us into 'little america'.

[/end rant]

[Stofsk]

Howard has to go, before he turns us into 'little america'.

Howard's got nothing to do with this. Australia has been moving closer to the US for decades, in ALL fronts, not just political - blaming Howard for this is ludicrous.

As for the East Timor situation, I don't know enough about it to call against either side. However, I prefer to give the East Timorese the oil. We're a rich nation in comparison.

[Mr Flibble]

Howard has to go, before he turns us into 'little america'.

Howard's got nothing to do with this. Australia has been moving closer to the US for decades, in ALL fronts, not just political - blaming Howard for this is ludicrous.

I talking about his adoption of US foreign policy. I agree the americanization of our culture has nothing to do with him, and that we have been moving politically closer to the US, but we have not supported the US in all it does, and joined them in wars, based on fabricated/exaggerated evidence, especially hen the majority of our population was against us joing that war, by going into Iraq, Howard sold out the Australian people to Bush.

[Stofsk]

Sorry about the nitpick, I did misunderstand what you meant.

[Mr Flibble]

Sorry about the nitpick, I did misunderstand what you meant.

No problem.

[Chris OFarrell]

We have NO claim to the Greater Sunrise field and I am truly starting to wonder if Howard went ahead with the peacekeeping mission simply to gain control of them. These fields are right off East Timors coast, a HELL of a long way from Australia. It would be like China claiming oilfields a few kilometres of Japans coast.

We basicly tried to FORCE them to sign a treaty a while back that split this oilfield 90/10 in OUR favour!

Its fucking robbery and I am truly disgusted at these actions. We are a modern and wealthy Western Power with a more then robust economy. They have NOTHING, these oilfields are the key to their survival and emergence as a nation and we want to grab it all.

Fucking amazing.

[Xon]

There is also the small matter that East Timor is chucking a major sad over the fact that we [v]are withdrawing our troups.[/v]

Until Australia started talkigna bout withdrawing our troups, all was rosy.

[jenat-lai]

Howard has to go, before he turns us into 'little america'.

Howard's got nothing to do with this. Australia has been moving closer to the US for decades, in ALL fronts, not just political - blaming Howard for this is ludicrous.

As for the East Timor situation, I don't know enough about it to call against either side. However, I prefer to give the East Timorese the oil. We're a rich nation in comparison.

They may well be poor enough not to be able to access it. Setting up a seaborne drilling rig costs alot. However something that I would doubt would ever happen, but would be the best thing for them, is for Australia to help East Timor set up a few rigs, then go into a joint venture with an East Timor company letting them run costs and men, and gaining some of the profit from the venture not all. this way is a compromise for both. Timor would agree because it lets them start an oil company with very little up front cost, but long term profits, whyle Australian companies (shell?) put the up front costs up, and then reap the benifits of a majority share of the profits. Why will this never happen? because where talking COMPANYS here not GOVERNMENTS... Money really does speak loudly here. Stripping East Timor (which we helped create by the way) of it's sea area just because it's profitable to us is rather underhanded. East Timor shouldn't agree to it unless they get a heck of a big bonus for doing so.

More likley a compromise would be them keeping their sea area, but 'leasing' it's use to Australian oil companies to drill. This would be of very good benifit to both Australia who gets the oil, and East Timor for letting Australians into it's seas. The use of Timorise to man the Drilling rig would also be a plus. This way Australia manages all the oil and incoming money from such, but pays East Timor for the privelage of having an oil rig set up in their waters, like Rent

[Mr Flibble]

They may well be poor enough not to be able to access it. Setting up a seaborne drilling rig costs alot. However something that I would doubt would ever happen, but would be the best thing for them, is for Australia to help East Timor set up a few rigs, then go into a joint venture with an East Timor company letting them run costs and men, and gaining some of the profit from the venture not all. this way is a compromise for both. Timor would agree because it lets them start an oil company with very little up front cost, but long term profits, whyle Australian companies (shell?) put the up front costs up, and then reap the benifits of a majority share of the profits. Why will this never happen? because where talking COMPANYS here not GOVERNMENTS... Money really does speak loudly here. Stripping East Timor (which we helped create by the way) of it's sea area just because it's profitable to us is rather underhanded. East Timor shouldn't agree to it unless they get a heck of a big bonus for doing so.

More likley a compromise would be them keeping their sea area, but 'leasing' it's use to Australian oil companies to drill. This would be of very good benifit to both Australia who gets the oil, and East Timor for letting Australians into it's seas. The use of Timorise to man the Drilling rig would also be a plus. This way Australia manages all the oil and incoming money from such, but pays East Timor for the privelage of having an oil rig set up in their waters, like Rent

The oil companies will drill for oil their (and in fact already are). The issue is at the moment the have to pay royalties to the nation which 'owns the oil, and at the moment those royalties are going to Australia, when they really should be going to Timor

[PainRack]

Hmmm, I didn't know that the dispute or the boundary has escalated to this level. The last I know, the dispute was over whether Australian oil companies should not pay tax for operating in Timor oilfields.

[Jeremy]

So what compensation did Australia get from helping out E. Timor?

[Predator]

I think it's disgusting, and depressing. Sometimes you allow yourself to believe, for just a short while, that there may be a nation or two who just occasionally act out of genuine altruism rather than disguised self interest - the reality of international politics is harsh. East Timor needs that oil far, far more than Australia does. A really dirty move on Australia's part - or more specifically, their government's part - like Americans, I dont think it's fair to judge the all of the population for their government's covert motives.

[Crown]

So what compensation did Australia get from helping out E. Timor?

As an Australian I do not believe we require 'compensation', and if we do certainly not 90% of their fucking oil for crying out loud. Definetly voting for Labour this August (speculation at this point about an early election). Fuck you Johnny Howard!

[Spyder]

So what compensation did Australia get from helping out E. Timor?

The knowledge that they helped safeguard the lives of fellow human beings.

[Stofsk]

So what compensation did Australia get from helping out E. Timor?

The knowledge that they helped safeguard the lives of fellow human beings.

And that's enough for me.

[PainRack]

So what compensation did Australia get from helping out E. Timor?

A secure northern border, with a friendly country, and the removal of a refugee influx situation