The forgotten Timorese boat people

About this episode

The episode discusses the arrival of East Timorese asylum seekers in Australia in 1995 and its implications on international relations.

In 1995, long before the 2001 'Tampa' refugee crisis, a small fishing boat arrived in Darwin, carrying eighteen East Timorese asylum seekers, including a six-month-old baby. The boat's arrival, and the activism of the passengers and their supporters in Australia, tested Australia's relationship with Indonesia in the last years of the Suharto regime. Guests: Vannessa Hearman, Associate professor of history, Curtin University, Perth. Southeast Asia specialist, especially Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Author of ‘The Good Sea: the journey of Tasi Diak and the Politics of Refugee Protection in Australia’ (MUP) Jose da Costa, East Timorese/Australian activist, was on the Tasi Diak voyage, fleeing East Timor. Actor and documentary maker Producer: Ann Arnold

People in this episode

Host: Ann Arnold

Guests: Vannessa Hearman, Jose da Costa

Topics covered

• refugee crisis
• East Timorese asylum seekers
• Australia-Indonesia relations
• activism
• history
• politics

Keywords

• East Timorese boat people
• asylum seekers
• Darwin
• Indonesia
• Suharto regime
• activism
• refugee protection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Curtin University

Books & works: The Good Sea: the journey of Tasi Diak and the Politics of Refugee Protection in Australia

Places: East Timor, Australia, Darwin, Indonesia

More episodes of Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

• Why do we fixate on the human face? · June 11, 2026 · 26 min
• Madam War Criminal: 'Serbia's Iron lady' unrepentant at 95 · June 11, 2026 · 23 min
• Soweto: the uprising that changed South Africa · June 10, 2026 · 25 min
• The campaign to save PNG's Sepik river from an Australian mining company · June 10, 2026 · 26 min
• Ian Dunt's UK: Henry Nowak's murder sparks immigration backlash · June 9, 2026 · 14 min
• Will Switzerland vote to cap its population? · June 9, 2026 · 15 min