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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 31 July 2019

Australia approves treaty with East Timor over gas royalties

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) East Timor.
— Australia's Parliament "Having that sort of com-
has approved the ratifica- pensation clause is really
tion of a maritime bound- a lawyer's way of making
ary treaty signed with East sure that there's no further
Timor 16 months ago and comeback on these issues,"
the government is now un- Rothwell said.
der pressure to return tens Under the treaty, East Timor
of millions of dollars in royal- will get the biggest share
ties from a seabed gas field of revenue from exploiting
that it concedes solely be- the untapped Greater Sun-
longs to the poor half-island rise gas field. It will be split
nation. either 80-20 if gas is piped
The Parliament late Mon- to Australia for processing
day passed legislation en- or 70-30 if it is piped to East
abling ratification of the Timor.
treaty, a week after Austra- East Timor wants the gas to
lia's impoverished neighbor be processed in its territory
voted in favor of similar leg- but investors are wary be-
islation that governs how cause it may not be eco-
the two countries will share nomically viable.
billions of dollars of oil and Sharing the oil and gas
gas riches lying beneath riches that lie between
the Timor Sea. Lawyer Bernard Collaery, left, talks to supporters outside the Australian Capital Territory Magis- Australia and East Timor
The treaty was signed in trates Court in Canberra on Tuesday, July 30, 2019. has been a major irritant
New York in March last year, Associated Press between the neighbors
but won't take effect until it since 2002 when East Timor
is ratified by an exchange said his country was losing founder of the Timor-Leste tralia anymore." emerged as a fledgling na-
of diplomatic notes when $5 million a month while the Governance Project aid Australia's Department of tion of 1.5 million people
Prime Minister Scott Morri- agreement remained un- organization, described Foreign Affairs and Trade independent of Indonesia.
son visits East Timor on Aug. ratified. Australia continuing to take did not comment on the Australia and East Timor
30, the 20th anniversary of Donald Rothwell, an Aus- revenue from Bayu Undan question of compensation, signed a 2006 treaty on
a referendum that secured tralian National University as "pretty outrageous." but said in a statement on sharing future Greater Sun-
independence from Indo- expert on international law, Charlie Scheiner, a re- Tuesday: "We look forward rise revenue. But the rela-
nesia, which invaded the said on Tuesday that a pro- searcher at La'o Hamutuk, to formally bringing the tionship plunged when East
former Portuguese colony vision of the treaty stipulat- an East Timorese research treaty into force as soon as Timor accused Australian
in 1975. ed that no compensation institute, said Australia had possible." spies of bugging its Cabi-
Australia will continue earn- was to be paid to either made $5 billion from oil and The treaty states that "the net discussions in 2004 to
ing 10% of the royalties from party as a result of the new gas that it now agrees is in parties agree that neither achieve an unfair negotia-
the Bayu Undan oil and gas border arrangements. East Timor's territory. party shall have a claim for tion advantage. Australia
field until then, when East "Once the treaty becomes "Australia had no right to compensation with respect denied the allegation.
Timor takes full ownership of operative, there is no obli- get 10% of Bayu Undan," to petroleum activities con- A whistleblower spy and
the field which is expected gation at all on Australia to Scheiner told Australian ducted in the Timor Sea." his lawyer Bernard Collaery
to be empty within a few pay any type of compen- Broadcasting Corp. "We Rothwell described that appeared briefly in a Can-
years. sation, as some calls have hope that Australia will do clause as "a little unusual," berra court on Tuesday
East Timorese indepen- been made to that end," the right thing and repay and reflected the multiple charged with conspiracy
dence hero and the coun- Rothwell said. the money that it took from Timor Sea agreements over to communicate secret in-
try's chief negotiator on the Steve Bracks, a former Vic- now things that they don't the decades that Australia formation concerning the
treaty, Xanana Gusmao, toria state premier and even claim belong to Aus- had with Indonesia then bugging allegation.q