Timor Sea
Dave Clarke (Write On, GLW #625) correctly observes that "Australia is cheating East Timor out of its share of the oil in the Timor Sea", but then he raises the clearly rhetorical question: "Could it be that the Australian government helped East Timor obtain its independence from Indonesia knowing that it would be easier to bully a small, poor nation than a large nation?"
If Clarke had bothered to investigate the history of Australia-Indonesia relations regarding the Timor Sea, he would have discovered that Australia opposed East Timor becoming independent in1975, and backed Indonesia's invasion and annexation of East Timor.
Under General Suharto, Indonesia was not an "adversary" of Australia, as Clarke claims, but a Western client state.
In 1989, Canberra and Jakarta signed the Timor Gap Treaty, under which Australia was to get the lion's share of the revenues from the most lucrative petroleum and gas zones in the Timor Sea (oil and gas fields on East Timor's side of the halfway point between the two countries).
Canberra was quite satisfied with this arrangement. It was one of the main reasons Australian governments — both Labor and Coalition — were opposed to East Timorese independence.
In 1999, the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia. In 2000, the United National Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), together with the East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA), declared the 1989 Australia-Indonesia Timor Gap Treaty to be illegal.
It is the East Timorese, not Canberra, who have sought negotiations to change the arrangements on the sharing of revenues from the Timor Sea's oil and gas resources.
Jon Lamb
Darwin
Four-year terms
Liberal MP Tony Smith is advocating four-year terms for the House of Representatives — with eight years for senators. He argues this would save money, give business greater certainty, and allow more time for governing with an eye to the long term. But what about keeping governments accountable to the public?
People can change their mind about a party, or candidate, after three or six years. Many new voters come onto the rolls over such periods.
Not having another chance for four years can demoralise opposing forces in the parliament and community, thereby making the government too comfortable. With longer terms, governments have more prospect of people forgetting about harsh measures introduced soon after election.
Even if most voters supported longer terms this may reflect a lack of interest in politics rather than a wise judgement. We should encourage people to monitor political developments and reject a major cut in the number of elections.
Brent Howard
Rydalmere, NSW
NZ Alliance Party
Writing on behalf of the New Zealand Alliance Party, Victor Billot (Write On, GLW #623) claimed it is "New Zealand's democratic socialist party". In what way is the Alliance Party socialist? According to the party's website (), the Alliance Party "is a social-democratic, left party" which seeks to "combine a concern for the environment with the need to create a progressive mixed economy and welfare state". Nowhere on the website could I even find a mention of socialism as a party objective.
Selena Black
Melbourne
Deaths in custody
Many thanks to Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly for your consistent coverage of Letty Scott's battle to expose the truth about the death ofher husband Douglas in Berrimah prison in 1985. Letty is a woman with tenacity who is an inspiring role model for everyone concerned about justice for Indigenous Australians. While others would have thrown in the towel long ago, Letty Scott kept up the fight to prove Douglas was beaten to death.
As you reported, Letty recently won the right to have her late husband's body exhumed for an autopsy. The finding of Brazilian forensic expert Jorge Paulete Vanrell, that the injuries to his body demonstrated evidence of torture and were not inflicted by Douglas Scott himself is a vindication of what Letty Scott has been arguing for two decades. The new findings contradict the results of the original inquest, which found that Douglas Scott committed suicide.
The new evidence is extremely significant. The courts are currently weighing up if the findings of the original inquest should be quashed. We sincerely hope they will find in Letty Scott's favour. A new inquiry is urgently needed.
If Letty succeeds in exposing the truth about her husband's death, then the truth about other cover-ups will follow. We want the killers of Douglas Scott, Daniel Yock, John Pat, Eddie Murray, TJ Hickey, Colleen Richman, Mulrunji Doomadgee and all the other Indigenous people hounded by police or bashed in jail brought to justice.
We salute Letty Scott and all who fight to stop Aboriginal deaths in custody.
Alison Thorne
For the Indigenous Social Justice Association Melbourne Supporters Group
West Brunswick, Victoria
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, May 11, 2005.
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