Timor-Leste: Twenty Years of Independence

At our May Event, AIIA WA will host a panel discussion to mark the 20th anniversary of the independence of Timor-Leste.

Less than 600km from Australia’s North, Timor-Leste has featured prominently in Australia’s foreign policy for many decades: from its annexation by Indonesia in 1975, its struggle for independence, and its development since.  Two of AIIA WA’s past presidents, Sue Boyd and John Goodlad, and our current president, Brendan Augustin, have all had significant involvement in Australia’s relationship with Timor-Leste from the mid 70’s through to the present.
Sue, John, and Brendan will discuss their personal experiences in this relationship and their views on the key issues pertaining to it.

This event will run with a live audience and as a webinar.

About the speakers

Dr Sue Boyd is widely respected and admired in the international relations community and is a past President of the AIIA for WA. Born in India to British parents, Boyd lived and was educated in Germany, Egypt, Cyprus, Ireland and the UK. Her family emigrated to Perth, Western Australia in 1966 where she was the first woman President of the Student Guild of Undergraduates at UWA. In 1970 she joined the Australia Department of External Affairs, the beginning of a 34 year career in the Australian Foreign Service, including postings as Ambassador in Vietnam, High Commissioner in Bangladesh and Fiji, Consul-General in Hong Kong and postings in Portugal, The UN in New York and the German Democratic Republic. Since returning to WA in 2003, she has invested considerable energy into revitalising the AIIA for WA. She now works as a Senior Executive Business Coach in Perth and is interested in international affairs and in the arts, including theatre, and opera.

John is our Immediate Past President and was a Member of the National Committee of the AIIA for 9 years. He has represented the Institute on various occasions including a lecture at NATO Headquarters, leading a delegation to the Republic of Korea and participation in the second track Australia-New Zealand/ASEAN talks in Kuala Lumpur in 2019. He is a former Australian diplomat who served in Thailand and Indonesia and he has a keen interest in the immediate region and Australia’s place in the world. John is the Honorary Consul for Colombia in Western Australia and is on the Committee of the Consular Corps of WA Inc. John is also a Master of International Law from the Australian National University. He speaks fluent Thai and Indonesian, and some Mandarin, French and Spanish.

Brendan Augustin is our current President.  He spent almost fifteen years in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). During this time he undertook diplomatic assignments in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and France. After leaving DFAT, he worked in senior roles in Oil and Gas and Mining, including international assignments in Mauritania and Timor Leste with Woodside Energy and in Cameroon with Sundance Resources. Brendan returned to Perth in 2013 to work with Woodside where he assumed several roles including General Manager, Government and International Relations. He left Woodside recently and is now the Managing Director of Bina Group, which is focused on supporting companies grow internationally. In July 2021 he was elected President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs of Western Australia.