Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to present two identical petitions which have been approved by the Petitions Committee for presentation to the house. One is in paper form, one is in electronic form, but both relate to the establishment of a maritime border between Australia and Timor-Leste.

These petitions are the result of the work of Sister Susan Connelly, from the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Sister Connelly is also the convenor of the Timor Sea Justice Forum New South Wales and a member of the Australia Timor-Leste Advancement Society. Sister Connelly is here today in the Chamber with a number of petitioners, and I welcome them all here today.

On their behalf, and as the local member for the principal petitioner, I present this paper petition with 6,370 signatures to the house.

The petition read as follows—

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House the absence of an internationally recognised border between Australia and Timor-Leste.

We there ask the House to take all appropriate measures to assist the Government to finalise as soon as possible a fair and permanent maritime boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste, using median line principles, in accordance with current international law. We ask that this be done in good faith and as a matter of urgency.

from 6370 citizens (Petition No. PN0080)

I also present this electronic petition, signed by 369 people, to the house.

The petition read as follows—

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House the absence of an internationally recognised border between Australia and Timor-Leste.

We there ask the House to take all appropriate measures to assist the Government to finalise as soon as possible a fair and permanent maritime boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste, using median line principles, in accordance with current international law. We ask that this be done in good faith and as a matter of urgency.

from 369 citizens (Petition No. EN0232)

The petitions call on the house to take measures to assist the government to finalise a fair and permanent maritime boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste. Since the petitions began—and, in fact, just this month in New York—Australia and Timor-Leste have signed a treaty establishing their maritime boundaries. It is welcome news. It was news that was warmly welcomed by our shadow minister for foreign affairs, Senator Penny Wong, at the time, and news that, again, was welcomed by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition yesterday, when the treaty between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste establishing their maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea was tabled in the parliament.

The signing of the treaty follows the work done by so many, including those here today and the many petitioners who signed the petitions who have pushed for an end to the more than 40 years of uncertainty over our shared maritime border. Ending this uncertainty for both nations has been a goal shared by Labor. Two years ago, Labor's deputy leader and then shadow minister for foreign affairs made clear that Labor was committed to working with Timor-Leste to reach a binding international agreement to settle the maritime border between our two countries. The signing of the treaty vindicates the position that Labor and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition took. It is important to realise that the treaty has been reached by Australia and Timor-Leste jointly engaging and cooperating in a rules based international process.

The treaty sets an important precedent. It is the first to be reached through conciliation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We're confident that this cooperation will continue between our two nations, and its signing and resolution of the uncertainty surrounding the maritime border will see a strengthening of our ties with the government and the people of Timor-Leste. We're thankful that the signing of the treaty has brought to an end such a long period of uncertainty, but we know there is still further work to be done with Timor-Leste to ensure that the development of the shared Greater Sunrise gas field benefits both our nations. I congratulate all those involved.