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| Don Voelte |
ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA - April 21,2011
In a farewell speech full of frustration and tears, the Chief Executive of Woodside has attacked the government of East Timor for failing to work towards a final deal for the Greater Sunrise gas project.
East Timor has threatened to cancel its treaty with Australia covering the project, in a dispute over where processing should occur. Don Voelte has indicated that the Sunrise deadlock constituted his only real regret at the end of his time as the helm of Woodside. Wednesday was Woodside AGM in Perth was Mr Voelte's last.
Reporter: David Weber
Speakers: Don Voelte, Chief Executive of Woodside
Listen:Windows Media
DAVID WEBER: Don Voelte's final press conference as chief executive meant it was time to say goodbye and for a moment, he let his guard down.
DON VOELTE: This might be the last opportunity I get to talk to y'all. I really enjoyed you guys (tearing up). It's been great... (pause). Sorry, I'm not very Australian, I show my emotions. I'm sorry. I know in Australia that's a very unmanly thing to do, you know, but I'm not a very good bloke.
DAVID WEBER: It was a rare display of tears in a press conference that lasted for more than 40 minutes.
The outgoing chief executive suggested he was going to get in trouble for what he wanted to say about East Timor. Mr Voelte said he liked completing his job, yet he wasn't going to get negotiations on Sunrise completed.
DON VOELTE: What bothers me is a government in Timor Leste that had full right to negotiate a treaty signed in 2007. They signed that treaty. Nobody put them under duress to sign that treaty; that treaty just four years ago. In the meantime we have done what they told us to do.
They were very prescriptive; they being the Australian government, the Timor Leste government negotiators in that treaty told us, if you do this, we should not withhold our approval. And it told us to get to the best economic, good oil field practice, you know the terms and conditions, we did that.
DAVID WEBER: Don Voelte said the joint venture partners were onside with Woodside. He said East Timor should get $13 billion over the time of production from Sunrise.
Mr Voelte said he was disappointed with the Timorese government.
DON VOELTE: For a government that was such great freedom fighters, 10, 11, 12 years later now, what's the measurement of this government on nation building? Just what have they done in this area?
By objecting to Sunrise being built, they must be objecting to promoting the quality of life and improving the livelihood of their people and I don't get it, I just don't understand it. And we've done everything right. We're trying to get a meeting with the guy that's stopping this, we can't get a meeting. Let me just say, something's broken.
DAVID WEBER: Another controversial proposal has been the decision to bring gas from the Browse Basin onshore at James Price Point, north of Broome.
Don Voelte said some opposition had been strong and he'd received several emails that he referred to the police.
He maintained that Browse was on schedule.
DON VOELTE: There's been comments that the NGOs (non government organisations) have held us up. Garbage. I respect what they're doing. I understand they have a point of view. I understand this that and the other thing.
We're working with the local Indigenous groups, we're trying to do the right thing for the people that have a right to say, best technologies, environmentally we'll be as sensitive as totally possible. But we are on schedule.
Let me just repeat something, all of our joint venture partners unanimously accepted the concept that we got to. We are pursuing that concept. All of our joint venture have been paying the bills, have approved a bigger budget etc etc so we don't know where this continually comes from.
DAVID WEBER: Don Voelte said he didn't know who his successor would be or when an announcement would be made.
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