The compelling inside story of how Australia attempted to bully East Timor out of its rights to one of the richest oil deposits in the world and the people, both heroes and villains, who played the game for a nation's future.
In 2004, East Timor began negotiations with Australia over rights to one of the richest oil deposits in the world, the Greater Sunrise oil fields in the Timor Sea. With the royalties from the oil fields, East Timor, one of the poorest nations on earth, would have a chance to secure its economic future. This is the inside story of Australia's attempts to bully East Timor out of that future. Paul Cleary, an Australian journalist, was a World Bank appointed advisor to the Prime Minister of East Timor. He sat in all of the East Timorese strategy meetings, he was in the negotiations as Australia and Alexander Downer stood over East Timor, he knows all of the key players. And he saw how the Timorese pulled off one of the great David and Goliath feats of the region. This is a compelling story about how Australia operates internationally and about the people, both heroes and villains, who played the game for a nation's future.
