January 14, 2006 Saturday

Demand a fair go for East Timor

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and Dr Ramos Horta of East Timor have signed a treaty to share the revenue from the main oil and gas field in the Timor Sea, congratulated by Prime Minister John Howard for ''the patient, careful . . . on occasion laborious work'' to achieve a ''fair and just'' outcome (The Advertiser, yesterday).

Unfortunately, the fairness of the outcome is highly questionable since Australia refuses to abide by international law in establishing the boundary between the two countries.

Many Australians may be happy to believe that a 50/50 share of revenue is a just return, whereas the true boundary would give the East Timorese at least a 66 per cent return.

I hope that all honest and fair Australians will lend their support to the various bodies campaigning for East Timor to be given its rightful boundary and share of revenue.

* IAN COTTON, Ingle Farm.

NORTHERN TERRITORY NEWS

January 13, 2006 Friday

OPINION -- LETTERS

Poison it's a gas, gas, gas

CONOCOPHILLIPS promised an in-ground flare that would not be visible from Darwin city.

Now they are boasting about their cheaper vertical flare.

This releases blatant extra greenhouse gases, with no attempt to burn the gas efficiently.

The LNG plant emits a lot of greenhouse gases and also poisonous pollutants in Darwin, yet the gas comes from another country, and is entirely sent to a third. Hardly seems fair?

The East Timor Government was conned. The employment agencies are partly based in Timor, and have no requirement to employ Timorese. Farcical?

Rob Wesley-Smith

Darwin