Bill Browne
Director, Accountability & Democracy Program

Last night I had the privilege of attending a ceremony celebrating Timor-Leste (East Timor) becoming the 11th member of ASEAN (the Association of South-East Asian Nations). It’s been a long journey for the small island nation, which applied in 2011.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong was among the speakers who emphasised Australia’s long and warm ties with both ASEAN (of which we were an early supporter) and Timor-Leste. 

Australia led the military force that protected the Timorese from Indonesian retaliation after they voted for independence in 1999, and has long provided Timor-Leste with financial assistance (including to prepare for its ASEAN admission).

My pride in Australia’s contribution to Timor-Leste’s continued independence was tempered by the outrageous way that Australia has sometimes treated its near neighbour. It wasn’t mentioned last night, but while John Howard was prime minister, Australia spied on the Timor-Leste government to gain an advantage in negotiations over how to carve up oil and gas resources.

The pretext for accessing Timor-Leste government offices? One of those aid projects that we are so proud of.

Then Australia prosecuted the whistleblower who revealed the bugging, and his lawyer Bernard Collaery. To his credit, former Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus dropped the prosecution of Collaery.

Australia Institute research often explores issues relating to Timor-Leste. Back in 2016, our polling research showed that Australians supported a fairer maritime boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste, even though it would give Timor-Leste a greater share of oil and gas reserves. More recently, we have researched how to make temporary workers from Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste less vulnerable to exploitation.

Last year the Australia Institute hosted President José Ramos-Horta to discuss the lessons from Timor-Leste’s path to freedom. You can watch the speech online.