Photo: Martin Wurt/OxfamAUS.

On Australian borders shrink and stretch?, we describe how the opening of negotiations to establish a permanent maritime boundary between Australia and East Timor is crucial to East Timor's share of vast oil and gas wealth under the Timor Sea. As one of poorest countries in the world, East Timor desperately needs revenues from these reserves to meet its development challenges. These challenges include:

• Only 60% of East Timorese can read and write.
• The life expectancy is just 57 years.
• More than one in ten East Timorese children born today will likely die before the age of five.
• East Timor's paltry annual budget of $102 million is heavily reliant on foreign aid money - most of which is set to rapidly decline over the next three years, leaving East Timor with an anticipated budget deficit of more than $168 million by 2007.

Write to Prime Minister John Howard outlining the importance of revenue from the Timor Sea for East Timor's future development. Also outline your concern that Australia isn't treating East Timor fairly in determining a maritime boundary between our two countries. Ask that Australia negotiate a permanent maritime boundary with East Timor within the next three to five years or otherwise refer resolution of the issue to independent arbitration through the International Court of Justice.

Contact the Prime Minister John Howard on his website at www.pm.gov.au or fax (02) 6273 4100.

You can find out more about the East Timor Sea Treaty at: www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/polliewatch/east_timorsea.html.

Photo: Martin Wurt/OxfamAUS.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is now supported by 40 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Japan. Australia remains one of the very few wealthy nations yet to support the Fund in financing programs to save lives from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The next few months are crucial in persuading the Australian government to make a contribution to the Fund in the next overseas aid budget, to be announced in May. Please support this important campaign by visiting or writing a letter to your local Federal MP, or writing to Alexander Downer, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, urging Australia to make a significant contribution to the Fund in the May budget.

For details about this campaign, check out our briefing paper at www.oxfam.org.au/world/hiv/ or contact our HIV/AIDS Advocacy Coordinator Alison Wells at alisonw@oxfam.org.au or on (03) 9289 9495.