I've noticed about Indonesian representatives it's that they consistently put Indonesian interests first.
SPQR,
Whose interests did you expect them to put first ? You see, they got their priorities right unlike our ALP Governments who don't put Australia's interest's first.

Dear Indy,

Which governments have the habit of selling to foreign
investors everything that's not nailed down in this
country?

I find that large tracts of Australia can be sold to
foreigners very disturbing. I don't care if the buyers
are from Indonesia, China, or elsewhere, such enormous
areas of our land should stay in Australian hands for
future generations. As one reader asked in Saturday's
The Age, (Sept. 14, 2013), "What's wrong with a clearly
defined long-term lease that includes immediate annulment
should land, water, or animal mismanagement occur?"

Once we sell them the land - they can do what they want
on it.

It really is frustrating that Indonesia won't lift
a finger to stop the boats yet it seems that we're
considering letting them buy cattle farms and give
them millions in aid. No wonder they don't take us
seriously.

Foxy,

While many might agree with your last paragraph, it was the Gillard/Greens government that approved the sale of Australia's mammoth Cubbie Station to the Chinese government.

Cubbie Station is a huge cotton farm with water rights -with water being drawn from guess where. As a tip, the property runs along 28 kms of the Culgoa which is part of the Murray-Darling Basin system.

Whichever side of government allows Australian land and water to be sold as commodities to foreign interests, they always step behind bureaucrats to defend themselves, in this case the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Mr Swan and the Gillard/Greens government of which he was the federal Treasurer were willing to put China's arable land, water and energy security beyond Australia's.

Forget political parties, what is needed in government is transparency of decisions and frequent independent audits.

Dear OTB,

Well stated and valid.

Thank You.

Thank you.

What is also forgotten is foreign ownership of trophy real estate.

As a general comment, comments being made by the Indonesians are just part of their hard-ball negotiating style. They won $$ and concessions from the outgoing PM and they want to double-dip from the incoming government. Unfortunately diplomacy is about that.

Dear OTB,

I don't envy any government in having to deal with the
Indonesians.

And talking about diplomacy ...

I've just finished reading an article in the Saturday Age,
Sept. 14, 2013, written by Paul Barratt (former secretary
Department of Defence), and others. They express their
concern of:

" The US President's seeking
US congressional and international approval to launch
a punitive military action against the government of
Syria, which would almost certainly bring further suffering
and disruption to populations in the region."

"The newly-elected Australian government may soon have to
decide whether, how and under what circumstances Australia
would support our major ally in another armed intervention
in the Middle East."

They ask the pertinent question:

"How and by whom should a decision to send Australian troops to
war be made - by the Prime Minister or by a broader
consultative process?"