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"Your editorial Timor solution not in law books (SMH 09.08.04)  mentions in passing that “at Australia's insistence there is no court or adjudicator to decide the legal case.” Well, of course. East Timor’s case is far stronger than our Government would have us believe, so we wouldn’t want interference from anything remotely like an independent arbiter." Sr. Susan Connelly, Spokesperson on oil issues, Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timorese Studies (MMIETS)

Letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, in response to Editorial this week

Topic: Timor's Oil

Author:

Sister Susan Connelly,
Spokesperson on oil issues & Deputy Director of MMIETS,
Member of TSJC, Sydney

Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timorese Studies (MMIETS)
Phone: 02 9623 2847
Email: sc@mmiets.org.au

About the Mary MacKillop Institute / Institutu Mary MacKillop:
http://www.pcug.org.au/~wildwood/mmiets.html

Timor Sea Justice Coalition (TSJC) - Sydney
Home: http://www.TimorSeaJustice.org

SMH:

Dear Letters Editor, 

Your editorial Timor solution not in law books (SMH 09.08.04)  mentions in passing that “at Australia's insistence there is no court or adjudicator to decide the legal case.” Well, of course. East Timor’s case is far stronger than our Government would have us believe, so we wouldn’t want interference from anything remotely like an independent arbiter. 

A political compromise requires that Australia acts in good faith. This means a willingness to return to the international bodies with maritime boundary jurisdiction, and that Australia agrees to more frequent meetings. 

It also means that we should stop exploiting areas in dispute and put the revenue in trust until ownership is established.  Tax revenue from the Laminaria oil field has come exclusively to Australia since 1999 to the tune of $1 million a day, giving us a handy $1.5 billion from a disputed area, ten times the amount used to assist East Timor.

A fair resolution of the Timor Sea dispute is about justice, not charity, but the extremity of the need of the people of East Timor requires that justice be applied swiftly. 

Sister Susan Connelly,
MMIETS

About MMIETS (the Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timorese Studies)

This info last updated: 12 Aug 2004

MMIETS is a Sydney and Dili based charitable institute established in 1994 by the Religious of St. Joseph (the order of the Blessed Mary MacKillop - Australia's first and only saint officially recognised by the Roman Catholic church) in response to an appeal for help by Bishop Belo (Diocese of Dili) and in consultation with the East Timorese community. It was created to assist in meeting the cultural, educational, health and material needs of the people of East Timor. MMIETS is safeguarding East Timorese culture by promoting the use of the language Tetum within the Church and general education and is developing a Tetum literacy program to this end. 


Director:
Sister Josephine Mitchell, RSJ (Religious of St. Joseph - "Brown Jo's")
email: josem@mmiets.org.au

Spokesperson on oil issues, Deputy Director of MMIETS:
Sister Susan Connelly, RSJ
email: sc@mmiets.org.au

Reception / Secretarial:
Noreen Nicoara
email: noreen@mmiets.org.au

Editor and Supervisor of Linguistics (based in Dili):
Father Leão da Costa, Director of Catholic Education, Fundação São Paulo

Linguist, Educator (based in Dili):
Sister Teresa (Tess) A. Ward, FDNSC (Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart)
email: tess@mmiets.org.au

Timorese Tetun language expertise (based in Sydney):
Luisa da Cunha Marques
Filomena de Oliveira

Health worker/educator, nurse:
Sister Joan Westblade, LCM (Little Company of Mary)
email: joanw@mmiets.org.au


MMIETS - Sydney, Australia:
20 Mamre Rd, St Marys
PO Box 299, St Marys NSW 1790 AUSTRALIA
Phone: 02 9623 2847
Fax: 02 9623 1573

Institutu Mary MacKillop - Bekora, Dili Timur, Timor Lorosae:
New larger premises now located in Bekora.
PO Box 427, Dili, East Timor (via Darwin)

Home: http://www.mmiets.org.au
Timor Sea Justice Issues: http://www.mmiets.org.au/projects4.html
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