Crossing the Line: Australia’s Secret History in the Timor Sea

It is fifty years since Australia unilaterally issued petroleum exploration permits in the Timor Sea. For fifty years the Australian government has schemed to assert the integrity of those permits. Australia did nothing to stop Indonesia’s devastating occupation of East Timor, when - on our doorstep - 120,000 lives were lost from a population of 650,000. Instead, our government colluded with the Indonesian government in pursuit of our Timor Sea oil agenda.

With access to never-before-seen classified documents, Kim McGrath tells the story of Australia and Timor’s secret history. With many explosive revelations, she shows how access to resources has been a key factor in how Australia has responded to Timor, right up to the UN hearings scheduled for conclusion in September 2017. It is time, she argues, for Australia to reconsider our ruthless determination to claim oil and gas wealth in the Timor Sea that does not belong to us.