LH letters to Parliaments on Maritime Boundary Treaty

Liga ba artigu ne'e iha Tetum

On 6 March, Timor-Leste and Australia signed a Treaty to finally establish their maritime boundary, which is pending ratification by both countries. La'o Hamutuk made a submission to Australia's Parliament in April.  

We have just written a submission to Timor-Leste's National Parliament, which is expected to discuss ratification later this month. Our main points are:

• We appreciate both nations’ success in defining our maritime boundary, after decades of struggle and frustration.
• We encourage Timor-Leste and Australia to ratify the Treaty expeditiously.
• Timor-Leste should maintain its effective, transparent system for managing petroleum activities.
• Our nation needs to focus its energy and resources on diversifying our economy away from petroleum dependency.
• Before spending more money on the Tasi Mane project, the Government, Parliament and the public should study a rigorous and objective assessment of its fiscal, social, economic and environmental costs, benefits and risks.

 For more information on this complex and critical issue, see La'o Hamutuk's website.