Good Neighbours

Don’t suppose it matters much who’s in the chair 
when dithering, as such, on keeping the CMATS 
split square - like what’s needed to keep them or 
us sincere. Should we explain there’s $40b in oil 
and gas reserves at back of this  

Okay, we may have been gathering intelligence, 
who’s so naive as to not dip in a hand, ’n sneak 
a bit - but it is not spying; that is slimy stuff - we 
peak only into affairs where threat is to National 
security - which Timorese don’t happen to be 

But this is a bilateral treaty on - ‘certain maritime 
arrangements in the Timor Sea’, a mouthful, yes 
one with disproportionate profits to be gleaned - 
and under the UN aegis we’re cautioned to be a 
good neighbour, or be thought of badly 

So we’ve taken a smack on the hand for ASIO  
seizing East Timorese documents when raiding 
a lawyer’s office in Canberra, he’s on their legal 
team, but UN’s top court’s ruled we don’t have 
to return the stuff, just keep it under wraps 

And that’s considered victory for an underhand 
act of undiplomatic savagery using raw powers 
to force the Timorous beasties to see things as 
we do - or wear the consequences of losing an 
open and shut case to ‘de jure' spying 

© 4 March 2014, I. D. Carswell