AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2004
Fed: Downer says meeting to pay way for more talks on Timor gas
CANBERRA, Aug 11 AAP - Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said today that a
meeting with his East Timorese counterpart would help pave the way for further talks on
the dispute over seabed boundaries.
Australia and East Timor have been unable to resolve the dispute over the boundaries
in the East Timor sea, which is rich in oil and gas reserves.
Mr Downer is today meeting East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta about the issue.
"Jose Ramos-Horta's coming here today and we're going to sit down and have a talk about
where we're at in these negotiations, and sort of prepare the way for the next round of
talks which we're hoping will take place in September," Mr Downer told reporters.
Mr Downer said it appeared Labor may have dropped its policy of restarting the talks
with East Timor if it wins the election.
Opposition Leader Mark Latham has said a Labor government may have to restart the talks
because of bad blood at the negotiating table.
Mr Downer said there was no point in holding the next round of talks if Labor continued
with its policy of restarting the negotiations.
"On the other hand I'm not sure that what Mr Latham said was the Labor Party's position,"
he said.
"I get the impression in recent times that the Labor Party is furiously trying to cover
up for Mr Latham's gaffe and don't want any longer to involve themselves in being seen
to destabilise the negotiations."
Mr Downer said the government had agreed to give Labor frontbenchers Kevin Rudd and
Joel Fitzgibbon a briefing on the negotiations but the two MPs had repeatedly postponed
it.
"I don't know why they haven't had the briefing," he said.
"I think the truth is that Mr Latham so embarrassed the Labor Party on this issue,
they just wish the issue would go away."
AAP pj/sw/cjh/jlw
KEYWORD: TIMOR GAS
2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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