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114-538: The Timor Leste Defence Force ( Tetum : Forcas Defesa Timor Lorosae , Portuguese : Forças de Defesa de Timor Leste or Falintil -FDTL, often F-FDTL ) is the military of East Timor . The F-FDTL was established in February 2001 and comprises two infantry battalions, small naval and air components and several supporting units. The F-FDTL's primary role is to protect East Timor from external threats. It also has an internal security role, which overlaps with that of

228-636: A Cessna 206 to the F-FDTL. Rehabilitation work on the airport began in January 2022. The US military has stated that the purpose of this agreement is to support the creation of an Air Component to "help the Timorese government improve its maritime awareness, respond to natural disasters, and promote economic development". The Cessna 206 was handed over in June 2023. The military ranks of the F-FDTL are similar to

342-491: A Special Operations force. In 2017 Timor Leste accepted an offer of two new Guardian-class patrol boats and associated training and logistics assistance from the Australian Government. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered in 2023, and will be named Aitana and Laline . Australia is also funding a new wharf at Hera Harbour that will enable operations of the two Guardian-class patrol boats. As of 2020

456-533: A $ 2.95/week charge for readers to view premium content on its website, mobile phone, and tablet apps. The paywall was officially launched on 24 October, with a free 3-month trial. In September 2017, The Australian launched a Chinese website. In October 2018, Chris Dore , former editor of The Daily Telegraph , The Courier-Mail , and The Sunday Times (Western Australia) was announced as taking over as editor-in-chief. After Dore resigned in November 2022,

570-405: A 2023 journal article, the academic Deniz Kocak noted that the F-FDTL does not have a written doctrine , and the force's role was unclear. He observed that the F-FDTL continues to regard itself as the direct successor to FALINTIL and has a focus on guerrilla warfare . The constitution of East Timor states that the president is the supreme commander of the defence force and has the power to appoint

684-444: A Portuguese suffix -dór (similar to '-er'). For example: Hau 1S rona hear asu dog hatenu barking Hau rona asu hatenu 1S hear dog barking "I hear the dog barking" Nia 3S sosa buys sigaru cigarettes Nia sosa sigaru 3S buys cigarettes "He/She buys cigarettes" Ita 1PL rona hearing rádiu? radio Ita rona rádiu? 1PL hearing radio "Are we hearing

798-409: A defence white paper . It proposes expanding the military to a strength of 3,000 regular personnel in the medium term through the introduction of conscription . It also sets longer-term goals such as establishing an air component and purchasing modern weapons, such as anti-armour weapons , armoured personnel carriers and missile boats , by 2020. The Force 2020 plan is similar to option 1 in

912-412: A guerrilla organisation to a regular military and political and regional rivalries. The F-FDTL's morale and disciplinary problems have resulted in large numbers of soldiers being disciplined or dismissed. The East Timorese Government was aware of these problems before the 2006 crisis but did not rectify the factors that were contributing to low morale. Tensions between the F-FDTL and PNTL have also reduced

1026-527: A heavy burden on the East Timor economy". Moreover, the Force 2020 plan may not be realistic or suitable as it appears to emphasise military expansion to counter external threats over spending on other government services and internal security and outlines ideas such as the long-term (~2075) development of space forces . While the Force 2020 plan has proven controversial, it appears to have been adopted by

1140-462: A language: Ethnologue classifies Tetun Terik as a dialect of Tetun. However, without previous contact, Tetun Dili is not immediately mutually intelligible, mainly because of the large number of Portuguese origin words used in Tetun Dili. Besides some grammatical simplification, Tetun Dili has been greatly influenced by the vocabulary and to a small extent by the grammar of Portuguese ,

1254-466: A large degree, on the basis of applicants' political allegiance. This led to many FALINTIL veterans feeling that they had been unfairly excluded from the military and reduced the force's public standing. The decision to recruit young people who had not served in FALINTIL in the subsequent rounds of recruitment led to further tensions within the F-FDTL due to the often large age gap between the veterans and

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1368-621: A large number of articles about the Rudd government 's Building the Education Revolution policy, which uncovered purported evidence of overpricing, financial waste, and mismanagement of the building of improvements to schools such as halls, gymnasia, and libraries. On the newspaper's website, a section named "Stimulus Watch", subtitled "How your Billions Are Being Spent", contained a large collection of such articles. The following year, other media outlets also reported these issues and

1482-577: A light patrol force equipped with corvette -sized ships and landing craft . On 12 April 2008 East Timor signed a contract for two new Chinese-built 43-metre Type 062 gunboats. These ships were to replace the Albatroz -class vessels and to be used to protect East Timor's fisheries. The contract for the ships also involved 30 to 40 East Timorese personnel being trained in China. The two new patrol boats arrived from China in June 2010, and were commissioned as

1596-523: A military has been criticised by some commentators, the East Timorese government has consistently believed that the force is necessary for political and security reasons. Critics of the F-FDTL's establishment argue that as East Timor does not face any external threats the government's limited resources would be better spent on strengthening the PNTL. While East Timor's political leadership recognised that

1710-554: A military. The widespread violence and destruction that followed the independence referendum in 1999 and the need to provide employment to FALINTIL veterans led to a change in policy. The inadequate number of police officers who were deployed to East Timor as part of the United Nations-led peacekeeping force contributed to high rates of crime. The presence of 1,300 armed and increasingly dissatisfied FALINTIL personnel in cantonments during late 1999 and most of 2000 also posed

1824-410: A petition to then President Xanana Gusmão that soldiers from the east of the country received better treatment than westerners. The 'petitioners' received only a minimal response and left their barracks three weeks later, leaving their weapons behind. They were joined by hundreds of other soldiers and on 16 March the F-FDTL's commander, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak , dismissed 594 soldiers, which

1938-584: A press conference to respond to the allegations against her. In 2013, the Fair Work Commission commenced initial inquiries into allegations of improper union financial conduct, and the government initiated a judicial inquiry into the AWU affair in December of that year as part of a royal commission into trade unions. The Teachers Pet , an investigation into the disappearance of Lynette Dawson ,

2052-494: A radio?" Sira 3P moris alive The Australian The Australian , with its Saturday edition The Weekend Australian , is a daily newspaper in broadsheet format published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership as of September 2019 of both print and online editions was 2,394,000. Its editorial line has been self-described over time as centre-right . The Australian

2166-515: A readership of 292,000 for the Monday–Friday editions and 576,000 for the Saturday edition. In June 2019, Roy Morgan reported figures of 851,000 (June 2018: 831,000) for the print version (total, weekend, and weekday editions); digital versions 1,965,000 (June 2018: 1,965,000); total cross-platform 2,421,000 (June 2018: 2,564,000). (By way of comparison, The Sydney Morning Herald total figure

2280-552: A result of the escalating violence the government was forced to appeal for international peacekeepers on 25 May. Peacekeepers began to arrive in Dili the next day and eventually restored order. A total of 37 people were killed in the fighting in April and May and 155,000 fled their homes. A United Nations inquiry found that the interior and defence ministers and the commander of the F-FDTL had illegally transferred weapons to civilians during

2394-611: A senior journalist writing for The Australian , reported in 2005 about the Australian Wheat Board funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to Iraq and the government of Saddam Hussein before the start of the Iraq War . This story became known as the AWB oil-for-wheat scandal , and resulted in a commission of inquiry into the matter. Overington received a Walkley Award for her coverage. In 2009, The Australian ran

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2508-495: A statement that "At no point does the research report claim that News Ltd publication fuelled far-right sentiment." In late 2022, editor-in-chief Chris Dore resigned from The Australian citing health issues. After acting as editor-in-chief following the departure of Dore, Michelle Gunn become the first female editor-in-chief at the newspaper in January 2023. Gunn was replaced as editor by Kelvin Healey. Caroline Overington ,

2622-575: A threat to security. Following the end of Indonesian rule, FALINTIL proposed the establishment of a large military of about 5,000 personnel. In mid-2000 the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) contracted a team from King's College London to conduct a study of East Timor's security force options and options to demobilise the former guerrilla forces. The team's report identified three options for an East Timorese military. Option 1

2736-615: A total population of 1,053,971, meaning that the share of native Tetum Prasa/Dili speakers had increased to 36.6% during the 2000s. In addition to regional varieties of Tetum in East Timor, there are variations in vocabulary and pronunciation, partly due to Portuguese and Indonesian influence. The Tetum spoken by East Timorese migrants living in Portugal and Australia are more Portuguese-influenced, as many of those speakers were not educated in Indonesian. The Tetum name for East Timor

2850-437: A total strength of 125 personnel. The F-FDTL is armed only with small arms and does not have any crew-served weapons . The 2007 edition of Jane's Sentinel stated that the F-FDTL had the following equipment in service: 1,560 M16 rifles and 75 M203 grenade launchers , 75 FN Minimi squad automatic weapons , 8 sniper rifles and 50 .45 M1911A1 pistols. A further 75 Minimis were to be ordered at that time. The majority of

2964-522: A working language, many words are derived from Malay , including: In addition, as a legacy of Indonesian rule , other words of Malay origin have entered Tetum, through Indonesian. However, Tetum speakers often use Malay/Indonesian or Portuguese numbers instead, such as delapan or oito 'eight' instead of ualu , especially for numbers over one thousand. Tetum has many hybrid words, which are combinations of indigenous and Portuguese words. These often include an indigenous Tetum verb, with

3078-465: Is Timór Lorosa'e , which means 'Timor of the rising sun', or, less poetically, 'East Timor'; lorosa'e comes from loro 'sun' and sa'e 'to rise, to go up'. The noun for 'word' is liafuan , from lia 'voice' and fuan 'fruit'. Some more words in Tetum: Words derived from Portuguese: As a result of Bazaar Malay being a regional lingua franca and of Indonesian being

3192-428: Is a podcast written by Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson that ran in 2018. It was credited with generating new leads that led to the subsequent arrest of Chris Dawson for the murder of his wife, and the setting up of police enquiry Strike Force Southwood to explore claims of sexual assaults and student-teacher relationships at several Sydney high schools brought up on the podcast. The series has had 28 million downloads,

3306-461: Is a long-term plan and does not propose acquiring advanced weapons for some years. The repercussions of the 2006 crisis lasted for several years. On 11 February 2008, a group of rebels led by Alfredo Reinado attempted to kill or kidnap President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Gusmão. Although Ramos-Horta and one of his guards were badly wounded, these attacks were not successful and Reinado and another rebel were killed. A joint F-FDTL and PNTL command

3420-525: Is chaired by the president and includes the prime minister, the defence, justice, interior and foreign affairs ministers, the heads of the F-FDTL and PNTL a national state security officer and three representatives from the national parliament. The council's role is not clear, however, and neither it nor the parliament served as a check against the decision to sack large numbers of F-FDTL personnel in 2006. A parliamentary committee also provides oversight of East Timor's security sector. Major General Lere Anan Timor

3534-652: Is down the middle in its news coverage". In 2007, Crikey described the newspaper as generally in support of the Liberal Party of Australia and the then-Coalition government , but has pragmatically supported Labor governments in the past as well. In 2007, The Australian announced their support for Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party in the Federal election. As of 2021, the last time

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3648-633: Is published by News Corp Australia, an asset of News Corp , which also owns the sole daily newspapers in Brisbane , Adelaide , Hobart , and Darwin , and the most circulated metropolitan daily newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne . News Corp's chairman and founder is Rupert Murdoch . The Australian integrates content from overseas newspapers owned by News Corp Australia's international parent News Corp, including The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London. The first edition of The Australian

3762-460: Is published on the first Friday of the month. " The Australian has long maintained a focus on issues relating to Aboriginal disadvantage." It also devotes attention to the information technology , defence and mining industries, as well as the science, economics, and politics of climate change . It has also published numerous special reports into Australia's energy policy, legal affairs, and research sector. The Australian Literary Review

3876-503: Is the current commander of the F-FDTL, and was appointed to this position on 6 October 2011. A small ministry of defence (which was renamed the Ministry of Defence and Security in 2007) was established in 2002 to provide civilian oversight of the F-FDTL. A lack of suitable staff for the ministry and the close political relationship between senior F-FDTL officers and government figures rendered this oversight largely ineffectual and retarded

3990-475: The Jaco class on the eleventh of the month. This acquisition was controversial in East Timor due to a perceived lack of transparency regarding the purchase and concerns that the patrol boats were not suited to the rough sea conditions and tropical weather in which they would need to operate. The academic Ian Storey has written that "corruption may have played a part in the deal". The East Timorese government justified

4104-543: The Ermera district . While the F-FDTL operated in a "relatively disciplined and orderly fashion" during this operation, it illegally arrested nearly 100 people who were released 10 days later without being charged. The F-FDTL has suffered from serious morale and disciplinary problems since its establishment. These problems have been driven by uncertainty over the F-FDTL's role, poor conditions of service due to limited resources, tensions arising from FALINTIL's transition from

4218-502: The Indonesian National Armed Forces were effective against overwhelming numbers and it has the potential to form a credible deterrent against invasion. The Army's current doctrine is focused on low-intensity infantry combat tactics as well as counter-insurgency tasks. Most of the force's training and operations are conducted at the section level, and company or battalion-sized exercises are rare. Up until

4332-808: The King of Portugal . Following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974, Indonesia invaded East Timor , declaring it "the Republic's 27th Province". The use of Portuguese was banned, and Indonesian was declared the sole official language, but the Roman Catholic Church adopted Tetum as its liturgical language, making it a focus for cultural and national identity. After the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) took over governance in 1999, Tetun (Dili)

4446-1430: The National Biography Awards in 2021. Columnists include Janet Albrechtsen , Troy Bramston, Henry Ergas , Ticky Fullerton , Antonella Gambotto-Burke , Adam Creighton , Robert Gottliebsen , Gideon Haigh , Paul Kelly , Chris Kenny , Brendan O'Neill , Nicolas Rothwell , Angela Shanahan, Dennis Shanahan , Greg Sheridan , Judith Sloan , Cameron Stewart , Peter van Onselen , Graham Richardson , Peta Credlin , and Claire Lehmann . It also features daily cartoons from Johannes Leak . Occasional contributors include Gregory Melleuish , Kevin Donnelly , Caroline Overington , Tom Switzer , James Allan , Hal G.P. Colebatch , Luke Slattery, Noel Pearson , Bettina Arndt , Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott , and Lucian Boz . Contributors to The Weekend Australian Magazine and "Review" in The Weekend Australian include Phillip Adams , national art critic Christopher Allen , actor and writer Graeme Blundell , Jeremy Clarkson , Antonella Gambotto-Burke , author Trent Dalton , author Nikki Gemmell , poet Sarah Holland-Batt , and demographer Bernard Salt . Film critic David Stratton retired in December 2023. In 1971, The Australian instituted its own "Australian of

4560-542: The Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL). This overlap has led to tensions between the services, which have been exacerbated by poor morale and lack of discipline within the F-FDTL. The F-FDTL's problems came to a head in 2006 when almost half the force was dismissed following protests over discrimination and poor conditions. The dismissal contributed to a general collapse of both the F-FDTL and PNTL in May and forced

4674-504: The military ranks of the Portuguese Armed Forces . Total defence expenditure for East Timor in 2018 was $ US29.1 million. This represented 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Timor Leste is one of the few South East Asian countries to have not increased its defence spending between 2009 and 2018, with defence expenditure decreasing by 63.4 per cent in real terms over this period. The modest size of

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4788-575: The 2006 crisis the land component's primary fighting units were two battalions, following the original idea of the Australian major-general whose suggestion it was. These units were located in separate bases. As of 2004 the 1st Battalion was based at Baucau , with a contingent in the seaside coastline village of Laga. In 2006 the 2nd Battalion was stationed at the Nicolau Lobato Training Centre near Metinaro . Almost all of

4902-412: The 2nd Battalion's soldiers were dismissed during the 2006 crisis. It should be clearly noted that the listing of personnel above after the 2006 crisis refers only to a "former" 2nd Battalion. The other major Army units are a military police platoon and a logistic support company. As of 2019, the F-FDTL was planning to raise a special forces company. The 2020 edition of The Military Balance stated that

5016-673: The Army had 2,200 personnel. Logistics and service support is provided through Headquarters F-FDTL in Dili . The military police platoon polices the F-FDTL and performs traditional policing tasks, resulting in conflicting roles with the PNTL. The military police have also been responsible for presidential security since February 2007. In 2010 the United States Embassy in Dili reported that the F-FDTL also planned to raise two engineer squadrons during that year; these two units were to have

5130-615: The East Timorese government. The plan was criticised by the United Nations and the governments of Australia and the United States as unaffordable and in excess of East Timor's needs. East Timorese President José Ramos-Horta defended the plan, however, arguing that its adoption will transform the F-FDTL into a professional force capable of defending East Timor's sovereignty and contributing to the nation's stability. East Timorese defence officials have also stressed that Force 2020

5244-469: The F-DTL's personnel, with none holding a rank higher than captain. When initially established, the F-FDTL land force comprised two light infantry battalions , each with an authorised strength of 600 personnel. As of 2004 each battalion had three rifle companies, a support company and a headquarters company. Although the army is small, the guerrilla tacticsemployed by FALINTIL before the departure in 1999 of

5358-470: The F-FDTL "in ruins". The F-FDTL's strength fell from 1,435 in January 2006 to 715 in September and the proportion of westerners in the military fell from 65 per cent to 28 per cent. The F-FDTL started a rebuilding process with support from several nations and the United Nations, but was still not ready to resume responsibility for East Timor's external security two years after the crisis. In 2004

5472-481: The F-FDTL and PNTL. In June 2008 the Government offered to provide financial compensation to the petitioners who wished to return to civilian life. This offer was accepted, and all the petitioners returned to their homes by August that year. In May 2009, the F-FDTL accepted its first intake of recruits since the 2006 crisis. While the regional diversity of the 579 new recruits was generally much greater than that of

5586-569: The F-FDTL to 3,600 personnel by 2020, of whom approximately one quarter will be members of the Naval Component. The 2016 edition of the International Institute for Strategic Studies ' (IISS) publication The Military Balance stated that the F-FDTL was "only capable of internal and border-security roles". The East Timorese Government published a new Strategic Defence and Security Concept during 2016. This document defined

5700-592: The F-FDTL was established in December 2001 when Portugal transferred two small Albatroz -class patrol boats from the Portuguese Navy . Its establishment was not supported by the King's College study team, the UN, or East Timor's other donor countries on the grounds that East Timor could not afford to operate a naval force. The role of the naval component is to conduct fishery and border protection patrols and ensure that

5814-696: The F-FDTL's Air Component operated a single Cessna 172P aircraft. In 2019 the East Timorese Government was considering purchasing three Chinese variants of the Mil Mi-17 helicopter, and a small number of F-FDTL personnel were trained to operate the type in the Philippines. The United States and East Timorese governments reached an agreement in June 2021 through which the United States will contribute funding to upgrade Baucau Airport to support F-FDTL and commercial operations and donate

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5928-427: The F-FDTL's commander and chief of staff. The Council of Ministers and National Parliament are responsible for funding the F-FDTL and setting policy relating to East Timor's security. A Superior Council for Defence and Security  [ de ] was established in 2005 to advise the president on defence and security policy and legislation and the appointment and dismissal of senior military personnel. The council

6042-496: The F-FDTL's personnel were initially FALINTIL veterans the force's composition has changed over time and few soldiers from the insurgency remained as of 2005 due to the force's narrow age requirement. After the F-FDTL's 1st Battalion was established in 2001 recruitment was opened to all East Timorese above the age of 18, including women. Few women have joined the F-FDTL, however. As at February 2010, only seven per cent of new recruits were female. In 2020 women comprised 10.8 per cent of

6156-406: The F-FDTL's training, and the United States equipped the force. Some of the problems that have affected the F-FDTL throughout its existence were caused by the process used to establish the force. A key flaw in this process was that FALINTIL's high command was allowed to select candidates for the military from members of FALINTIL without external oversight. As a result, the selection was conducted, to

6270-521: The F-FDTL's weapons were donated by other countries. An assessment of East Timor's security forces published by the Centre for International Governance Innovation in 2010 stated that "F-FDTL weapons management and control systems, while superior to that of PNTL, are underdeveloped". The F-FDTL ordered eight lightly armed four wheel drive vehicles from China in 2007. Between 10 and 50 Malaysian Weststar GS trucks were delivered in 2014. The Naval Component of

6384-571: The Fatu Ahi area. On 24 May F-FDTL personnel near the Force's headquarters were attacked by a group of rebel police officers, petitioners and armed civilians. The attack was defeated when one of the F-FDTL naval component's patrol boats fired on the attackers. During the crisis the relationship between the F-FDTL and PNTL had deteriorated further, and on 25 May members of the F-FDTL attacked the PNTL's headquarters, killing nine unarmed police officers. As

6498-549: The Force 2020 plan". Similarly, a 2019 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute noted that there has been little progress in completing the acquisition program set out in the Force 2020 plan, likely due to a shortage of funds and "possibly also because there seems to be no rationale for acquiring some of the equipment". On 29 October 2020, the Council of Ministers approved of a plan to start compulsory national service for Timorese citizens who are 18 years old and above. In

6612-469: The June quarter of 2013, the average print circulation for The Australian on weekdays was 116,655, and 254,891 for The Weekend Australian . Both were down (9.8 and 10.8%, respectively) compared to the June quarter the previous year. As of March 2015, the weekday edition circulation was 104,165 and the weekend edition was 230,182, falling 6.5% and 3.3%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2014. The Australian had 67,561 paid digital subscribers in

6726-402: The King's College report. The King's College study team strongly recommended against such a force structure, labelling it "unaffordable" and raising concerns over the impact of conscription upon East Timorese society and military readiness. The team estimated that sustaining such a force structure would cost 2.6 to 3.3 per cent of East Timor's annual gross domestic product and would "represent

6840-408: The PNTL efforts. In 2011 the F-FDTL was still under-strength and yet to reform its training and discipline standards. Tensions within the F-FDTL also continued to threaten the stability of the force. However, the East Timorese government placed a high priority on re-establishing the F-FDTL and developing it into a force capable of defending the country. In 2012 the Government authorised an expansion of

6954-483: The PNTL), each headed by their own secretary of state. At this time the East Timorese Government was working to expand the ministry's capacity with assistance from UNMIT, but continuing shortages of qualified staff limited the extent to which the ministry could provide civilian oversight to the security sector. Moreover, elements of the F-FDTL were continuing to resist civilian control over the security forces at this time, and

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7068-503: The UN peacekeeping force. The Lautém District was the first area to pass to the F-FDTL in July 2002. After further training the F-FDTL took over responsibility for the entire country's external security on 20 May 2004, although some foreign peacekeepers remained in East Timor until mid-2005. The F-FDTL conducted its first operation in January 2003 when an army unit was called in to quell criminal activity caused by west Timorese militia gangs in

7182-749: The Year award" separate and often different from the Australian of the Year chosen by the government's National Australia Day Council . Starting in 1968, the official award had long had links to the Victorian Australia Day Council, and at the time a public perception arose that it was state-based. As a national newspaper, The Australian felt it was better situated to create an award that more truly represented all of Australia. Nominees are suggested by readers, decided upon by an editorial board, and awarded in January of every year. In

7296-881: The alliance between the Greens and Labor. We wear Senator Brown's criticism with pride. We believe he and his Green colleagues are hypocrites; that they are bad for the nation; and that they should be destroyed at the ballot box." The Australian has been described by some media commentators and scholars as working to promote a right-wing agenda, and as a result, encouraging political polarisation in Australia. In 2019, former The Australian journalist Rick Morton reported in The Saturday Paper that an unpublished study by Victoria University, Melbourne , found that The Australian "fuels far-right recruitment" through dog whistle coded language. Victoria University issued

7410-418: The arts, health, wealth, and higher education. A traveland indulgence section is included on Saturdays, along with "The Inquirer", an in-depth analysis of major stories of the week, alongside much political commentary. Saturday lift-outs include "Review", focusing on books, arts, film, and television, and The Weekend Australian Magazine , the only national weekly glossy insert magazine. A glossy magazine, Wish ,

7524-464: The basis of East Timor's defence planning. The plan was also accepted by all the countries that had contributed peacekeeping forces to East Timor. The King's College report was criticised by Greg Sheridan , foreign editor of The Australian , on the grounds that it led East Timor to establish a large police force and a large Army when its security needs might have been better met by a single smaller paramilitary force. While East Timor's decision to form

7638-420: The commander of the F-FDTL formed a team, which included international contractors, to develop a long-term strategic vision document for the military. This study was supported by the Australian Government. The resulting Force 2020 document was completed in 2006 and made public in 2007. The document sets out an 'aspirational' vision for the development of the F-FDTL to 2020 and beyond and is of equivalent status to

7752-400: The commander of the F-FDTL's military police unit, and most of his soldiers including Lt Gastão Salsinha abandoned their posts in protest at what they saw as the army's deliberate shooting of civilians. Fighting broke out between the remnants of the East Timorese security forces and the rebels and gangs in late May. On 23 May Reinado's rebel group opened fire on F-FDTL and PNTL personnel in

7866-453: The country does not currently face an external threat, they believed that it is necessary to maintain a military capacity to deter future aggression. The establishment of the F-FDTL was also seen as an effective means of integrating FALINTIL into an independent East Timor. An Office for Defence Force Development staffed mainly by foreign military officers was established to oversee the process of forming East Timor's armed forces and demobilising

7980-524: The country's wealthiest people from one to 250, in order of their net worth. Daily sections include national news ("The Nation"), world news ("Worldwide"), sport news, and business news ("Business"). Contained within each issue is a prominent opinion/editorial (op/ed) section, including regular columnists and occasional contributors. Other regular sections include technology ("Australian IT"), media (edited by Darren Davidson since 2015), features, legal affairs, aviation, defence, horse-racing ("Thoroughbreds"),

8094-466: The crisis and recommended that they be prosecuted. By September the F-FTDL had been much reduced, and comprised Headquarters (95 personnel), Force Communications Unit (21), Military Police Unit (18), First Battalion (317), Naval Component (83), Force Logistics Unit (63) and Nicolau Lobato Training Centre, Metinaro (118). In addition, 43 former Second Battalion members were on courses. The 2006 crisis left

8208-557: The defence budget means that the East Timorese Government is only able to purchase small quantities of military equipment. Most of the F-FDTL's weapons and other equipment have been provided by foreign donors, and this is likely to remain the case in the future. No military production took place in East Timor as of 2011, and in 2020 the IISS noted that "maintenance capacity is unclear and the country has no traditional defence industry". Tetum language There are two main forms of Tetum as

8322-476: The development of East Timor's defence policy up to at least 2004. The failure to institute effective civilian oversight of the F-FDTL also limited the extent to which foreign countries are willing to provide assistance to the F-FDTL and contributed to the 2006 crisis. As at early 2010 the Ministry of Defence and Security was organised into elements responsible for defence (including the F-FDTL) and security (including

8436-494: The effectiveness of East Timor's security services. In 2003, the East Timorese Government established three new paramilitary police forces equipped with modern military-grade weapons. The formation of these units led to dissatisfaction with the Government among some members of the F-FDTL. During 2003 and 2004, members of the police and F-FDTL clashed on a number of occasions, and groups of soldiers attacked police stations in September 2003 and December 2004. These tensions were caused by

8550-669: The establishment of an independent commission to address their grievances. Violence broke out on 28 April when some of the petitioners and gangs of youths who had joined the protest attacked the Government Palace. The PNTL failed to contain the protest and the Palace was badly damaged. After violence spread to other areas of Dili, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri requested that the F-FDTL help restore order. Troops with no experience in crowd control were deployed to Dili on 29 April and three deaths resulted. On 3 May Major Alfredo Reinado ,

8664-421: The force had not opened itself to international scrutiny. The F-FDTL is organised into a headquarters, a land component, a naval component and an air component. Following its establishment the F-FDTL also had the "largest and most sophisticated" human intelligence network in East Timor, which was based on the clandestine resistance reporting networks built up during the Indonesian occupation. However, in May 2008

8778-470: The former guerrillas. The Office delegated responsibility for recruiting personnel to FALINTIL's leaders. FALINTIL officially became F-FDTL on 1 February 2001. The first 650 members of the F-FDTL were selected from 1,736 former FALINTIL applicants and began training on 29 March. The FDTL's 1st Battalion was established on 29 June 2001 and reached full strength on 1 December. Most members of the battalion were from East Timor's eastern provinces. The 2nd Battalion

8892-561: The freedom and security of the populations against any aggression or external threat, in respect for the constitutional order." The constitution also states that the F-FDTL "shall be non-partisan and shall owe obedience to the competent organs of sovereignty in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, and shall not intervene in political matters." The National Police of East Timor (or PNTL) and other civilian security forces are assigned responsibility for internal security. In practice

9006-406: The government to request foreign peacekeepers to restore security. The F-FDTL is currently being rebuilt with foreign assistance and has drawn up a long-term force development plan. The constitution of East Timor assigns the F-FDTL responsibility for protecting East Timor against external attack. The constitution states that the F-FDTL "shall guarantee national independence, territorial integrity and

9120-466: The government. The F-FDTL was formed from the national liberation movement guerrilla army known as FALINTIL ( Portuguese acronym for Forças Armadas de Libertação de Timor-Leste or Armed Forces for the Liberation of East Timor). During the period before 1999 some East Timorese leaders, including the current President José Ramos-Horta , proposed that a future East Timorese state would not have

9234-489: The maritime line of communication to the Oecussi enclave remains open. This is comparable to the role of the Portuguese Navy , which also undertakes military and coast guard functions. All of the force's warships are based at Hera Harbour, which is located a few kilometres east of Dili. A small base is located at Atabae near the Indonesian border. Under the Force 2020 plan the naval component may eventually be expanded to

9348-417: The marketplace as a newspaper that supports economic libertarianism". Laurie Clancy asserted in 2004 that the newspaper "is generally conservative in tone and heavily oriented toward business; it has a range of columnists of varying political persuasions, but mostly to the right." Former editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell has said that the editorial and op-ed pages of the newspaper are centre-right but "claims it

9462-408: The names of other languages, such as Swahili/Kiswahili and Punjabi/Panjabi . According to linguist Geoffrey Hull, Tetum has four dialects: Tetun-Belu and Tetun-Terik are not spoken outside their home territories. Tetun-Prasa is the form of Tetum that is spoken throughout East Timor. Although Portuguese was the official language of Portuguese Timor until 1975, Tetun-Prasa has always been

9576-494: The national parliament legislated to place the F-FTDL's intelligence branch under the authority of the head of the National Information Service. In 2011 F-FDTL had an authorised strength of 1,500 regular personnel and 1,500 reservists. It had not reached these totals as funding shortfalls prevented the reserve component from being formed and the Army's two regular battalions were under-strength. While all

9690-578: The new recruits and the fact that while the senior officers tended to be from the east of the country most of the junior officers and infantry were from the west. Furthermore, UNTAET failed to establish adequate foundations for the East Timorese security sector by developing legislative and planning documents, administrative support arrangements and mechanisms for the democratic control of the military. These omissions remained uncorrected after East Timor achieved independence on 20 May 2002. The F-FDTL gradually assumed responsibility for East Timor's security from

9804-452: The newspaper appointed its first female editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, in January 2023. The editorial board began investigating a senior editor after allegations of misconduct were raised following events of the papers' Christmas drinks. The senior editor was accused of inappropriate conduct at the event by multiple female employees. Since 2019, The Australian has published an annual study, called Australia's Richest 250 , which ranks

9918-554: The other official language of East Timor. The English form Tetum is derived from Portuguese, rather than from modern Tetum. Consequently, some people regard Tetun as more appropriate. Although this coincides with the favoured Indonesian form, and the variant with m has a longer history in English, Tetun has also been used by some Portuguese-educated Timorese, such as José Ramos-Horta and Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo . Similar disagreements over nomenclature have emerged regarding

10032-493: The overlapping roles of the two security services, differences of opinion between members of East Timor's leadership and the fact that many members of the PNTL had served with the Indonesian National Police prior to East Timor's independence while the F-FDTL was based around FALINTIL. The tensions within the F-FDTL came to a head in 2006. In January, 159 soldiers from most units in the F-FDTL complained in

10146-531: The paper endorsed the Labor Party at any level, state or federal, was the 2010 Victorian election. Along with other Australian papers owned by News Ltd, The Australian has been highly and repeatedly critical of the Labor Party. The Australian presents varying views on climate change , including articles by those who disagree with the scientific consensus, such as Ian Plimer , and those who agree, such as Tim Flannery and Bjørn Lomborg . A 2011 study of

10260-468: The paper until his death. Stuart Rintoul (active from around 1989) was a senior writer with The Australian , with some expertise in Indigenous languages and history. His 2020 book Lowitja: The Authorised Biography of Lowitja O'Donoghue , a biography of Indigenous Australian trailblazer Lowitja O'Donoghue , was shortlisted for a Walkley Award for Best Non-Fiction Book, and was highly commended in

10374-423: The policy turned into a political embarrassment for the government, which until then had been able to ignore The Australian ' s reports. Along with the government's insulation stimulus policy , it contributed to criticisms, perceptions of incompetence, and general dissatisfaction with the government's performance. On 16 July 2010, Julia Gillard was reported to have admitted that the school-building program

10488-592: The pre-crisis intakes, 60.3 per cent of officer candidates were from the country's eastern districts. From 2009 the F-FDTL established platoon-sized outposts to support the PNTL border police in the Bobonaro and Cova Lima border districts, and it has increasingly been deployed to undertake internal security tasks. From February to August 2010, 200 members of the F-FDTL were deployed to support PNTL operations against "Ninja" gangs. These troops undertook community engagement tasks, and were unarmed and not closely integrated with

10602-596: The predominant lingua franca in the eastern part of the island. In the fifteenth century, before the arrival of the Portuguese, Tetum had spread through central and eastern Timor as a contact language under the aegis of the Belunese-speaking Kingdom of Wehali , at that time the most powerful kingdom in the island. The Portuguese (present in Timor from c. 1556) made most of their settlements in

10716-622: The previous seven years of articles claimed that four out of every five articles were opposed to taking action on climate change. In 2010, ABC's Media Watch presenter Paul Barry accused The Australian of waging a campaign against the Australian Greens , and the Greens' federal leader Bob Brown wrote that The Australian has "stepped out of the fourth estate by seeing itself as a determinant of democracy in Australia". In response, The Australian opined that "Greens leader Bob Brown has accused The Australian of trying to wreck

10830-504: The price of $ US40 million. The 2020 edition of the IISS Military Balance listed the naval component's size as 80 personnel. The 2011 edition of Jane's Sentinel put the strength of the naval component at 250; this source also stated that recruitment for an approximately 60-person strong Marine unit began in 2011 from existing naval component personnel, members of the Army and civilians. The Marines were to serve as

10944-477: The purchase by arguing that the patrol boats were needed to safeguard the country's independence. The South Korean Government donated one ex- Republic of Korea Navy Chamsuri-class patrol boat and two smaller patrol boats in 2011, and these entered service with the naval component on 26 September 2011. The East Timorese government also ordered two fast patrol boats from the Indonesian company PT Pal in March 2011 for

11058-448: The responsibilities of the F-FDTL and PNTL were not clearly delineated, and this led to conflict between the two organisations. The East Timorese Government has broadened the F-FDTL's role over time. As what have been designated "new missions", the F-FDTL has been given responsibility for crisis management, supporting the suppression of civil disorder, responding to humanitarian crises and facilitating co-operation between different parts of

11172-436: The role of the F-FDTL as defending the country against external threats and countering violent crime within East Timor. The Strategic Defence and Security Concept also called for the F-FDTL's naval capabilities to be improved to adequately protect East Timor's exclusive economic zone . In 2020 the IISS judged that the F-FDTL "has been reconstituted but is still a long way from meeting the ambitious force-structure goals set out in

11286-426: The same period. As of August 2015, according to third-party web analytics providers Alexa and Similarweb , The Australian ' s website was the 72nd- and 223rd-most visited websites in Australia, respectively. SimilarWeb rates the site as the 23rd-most visited news website in Australia, attracting almost 3 million visitors per month. In June 2018, according to Roy Morgan Research , The Australian had

11400-417: The story being removed and an apology and retraction posted in its place. On 18 August 2012, Hedley Thomas reported that Gillard had left her job as a partner with law firm Slater & Gordon as a direct result of a secret internal investigation in 1995 into corrupt conduct on behalf of her then-boyfriend Ralph Blewett. The story was ignored for a long time by other media outlets until after Gillard held

11514-540: The west, where Dawan was spoken, and it was not until 1769, when the capital was moved from Lifau ( Oecussi ) to Dili that they began to promote Tetum as an inter-regional language in their colony. Timor was one of the few Portuguese colonies where a local language, and not a form of Portuguese, became the lingua franca : this is because Portuguese rule was indirect rather than direct, the Europeans governing through local kings who embraced Catholicism and became vassals of

11628-547: Was Maxwell Newton , before leaving the newspaper within a year, and was succeeded by Walter Kommer, and then by Adrian Deamer . Under Deamer's editorship, The Australian encouraged female journalists, and was the first mainstream daily newspaper to hire an Aboriginal reporter, John Newfong . During the 1975 election , campaigning against the Whitlam government by its owner led to the newspaper's journalists striking over editorial direction. Editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell

11742-504: Was 4,125,000; The Age (Melbourne) 2,782,000, Herald Sun (Melbourne) 2,729,000. The only other nationally distributed daily newspaper, the business-focused Australian Financial Review , had 1,587,000 cross-platform readers.) The paper had a 4 week reach in June 2024 of 1.82 million in print, 3.56 million on its digital platform, and 4.06 million cross-platform. Several journalists writing for The Australian have received Walkley Awards for their investigative reporting. In

11856-511: Was a monthly supplement from September 2006 to October 2011. The tone and nature of The Australian's coverage has changed over time, but since the late 20th century under the ownership of Rupert Murdoch and with Chris Mitchell as editor-in-chief, it has taken a markedly conservative direction. It was outspoken in supporting the conservative government of Prime Minister John Howard . Defunct Defunct Former editor Paul Kelly stated in 1991, " The Australian has established itself in

11970-413: Was appointed in 2002 and retired on 11 December 2015; he was replaced by Paul Whittaker , formerly the editor-in-chief of Sydney's Daily Telegraph . In May 2010, the newspaper launched the first Australian newspaper iPad application. In October 2011, The Australian announced that it was planning to become the first general newspaper in Australia to introduce a paywall , with the introduction of

12084-448: Was based on FALINTIL's preference for a relatively large and heavily armed military of 3,000–5,000 personnel, option 2 was a force of 1,500 regulars and 1,500 conscripts and option 3 was for a force of 1,500 regulars and 1,500 volunteer reservists. The study team recommended option 3 as being best suited to East Timor's security needs and economic situation. This recommendation was accepted by UNTAET in September 2000 and formed

12198-421: Was established in 2002 from a cadre of the 1st Battalion and was manned mainly by new personnel under the age of 21 who had not participated in the independence struggle. Due to the force's prestige and relatively high pay, there were 7,000 applications for the first 267 positions in the battalion. The F-FDTL's small naval component was established in December 2001. The Australian UNTAET contingent provided most of

12312-478: Was established to pursue the surviving rebels and the military and police demonstrated a high degree of co-operation during this operation. The joint command was disbanded on 19 June 2008. While the joint command contributed to the surrender of many of Reinado's associates, it has been alleged that members of this unit committed human rights violations. More broadly, the shock caused by the attack on Ramos-Horta and Gusmão led to lasting improvements in cooperation between

12426-550: Was flawed and that errors had been made because the program was designed in haste to protect jobs during the Great Recession . In 2011, Glenn Milne reported on the allegations against Prime Minister Julia Gillard concerning the AWU affair , including a claim regarding Gillard's living arrangements with Australian Workers' Union official Bruce Wilson. Gillard contacted the chief executive of The Australian , resulting in

12540-418: Was nearly half of the force. The soldiers dismissed were not limited to the petitioners, and included about 200 officers and other ranks who had been chronically absent without leave in the months and years before March 2006. The crisis escalated into violence in late April. On 24 April, the petitioners and some of their supporters held a four-day demonstration outside the Government Palace in Dili calling for

12654-543: Was printed in Canberra, then plates flown to other cities for copying. From its inception, the paper struggled for financial viability, and ran at a loss for several decades. A Sunday edition, The Sunday Australian , was established in 1971. It was discontinued in 1972, though, because press capacity was insufficient to print The Sunday Telegraph , the Sunday Mirror , and it. The Australian's first editor

12768-468: Was proclaimed the country's official language, even though according to Encarta Winkler Prins it was only spoken by about 8% of the native population at the time, while the elite (consisting of 20 to 30 families) spoke Portuguese and most adolescents had been educated in Indonesian. When East Timor gained its independence in 2002, Tetum and Portuguese were declared as official languages. The 2010 census found that Tetum Prasa had 385,269 native speakers on

12882-438: Was published by Rupert Murdoch on 15 July 1964, becoming the third national newspaper in Australia following shipping newspaper Daily Commercial News (1891) and Australian Financial Review (1951). Unlike other original Murdoch newspapers, it is not a tabloid publication. At the time, a national paper was considered commercially unfeasible, as newspapers mostly relied on local advertising for their revenue. The Australian

12996-571: Was the number-one Australian podcast and reached number one in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. Both Hedley and Gibson received Gold Walkleys for their work on the series. Former columnists include Mike Steketee, David Burchell , Michael Stutchbury , Simon Adamek, Emma Jane , George Megalogenis , Glenn Milne , Cordelia Fine , Alan Wood, Michael Costa , P. P. McGuinness , Michael Costello , Frank Devine , Matt Price , Christopher Pearson , Niki Savva . Political cartoonist Bill Leak worked for

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