Overnight a peace deal was signed hoping to end decades of civil war in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (or GAM) had been fighting a campaign for independence from Indonesia for the last thirty years until delicate peace negotiations saw them settle for special autonomy. The deals means Aceh remains part of Indonesia but will elect an autonomous government with wide ranging powers not granted to other areas of Indonesia. Aceh is already the only province to operate under the muslim law of Sharia. GAM rebels will be granted an immediate amnesty and a truth and reconciliation commission will be established to examine human rights abuses mirroring the process followed in Timor Leste. But the agreement needs to be seen in the context of recent history. In 2002 a similar peace agreement fell through which led to widespread violence, the declaration of martial law and a massive military campaign by the Indonesian military. Even the allocation of aid to tsunami victims was a cause for conflict with both sides accusing the other of using it for the exploitation of locals and military advantage. I spoke to Dr Ed Aspinall, Researcher at the School of Pacific and Asian Studies at Australian National University about the peace agreement. Dr Aspinall has been refused entry to Indonesia because of his views on Indonesian politics and is in the process of negotiating with the Indonesian government for his return to the country. Here are his thoughts on whether the peace agreement will last.

The sale of the Federal governments remaining 51.8 percent share in telecommunication giant Telstra looks set to go ahead as the Federal Cabinet today discusses the final proposal. After a bitter battle over the terms of the agreement, National's Senator Barnaby Joyce reiterated that he was happy with the final pacakge, which would give $3 billion dollars to regional services alongside the full privitisation of the company. However others in the community are still concerned that services in rural Australia are not up to scratch, and that the money set aside for their upgrade won't be put to good use. Charles Gregory reports.

Last night on The Wire you heard one Israeli settlers personal account of leaving his home in Gaza. And as we go to air tonight, Gaza is in turmoil tonight with thousands of settlers refusing to move from their homes. Tonight, we will hear the Palestinian perspective on what Israel’s disengagement from Gaza will mean for peace prospects in the region. The Gaza disengagement plan has been touted as the first step in a plan to kick start the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. However, Palestinians remain skeptical. While there has been much focus on how much Israel’s 8000 Gazan settlers are giving up in withdrawing from that region, Palestinians remain concerned that while this occurs, the Jewish state only appears to be further consolidating its hold over settlements on Palestinian lands in the West Bank, where approximately 450,000 Israeli settlers live. This report by Erica Vowles begins with comments from Dr Mustafa Bargouthi, the head of the Palestinian national Initiative, a peaceful opposition movement. He spoke to Erica from Gaza City.

In the weeks since the Palmer Inquiry, all children and many long -term detainees of Australias' immigration detention system, have been released. But today refugee advocates are claiming that it's being left up to them to support newly released detainees, because the government has not created adaquate settlement packages. Pamela Curr is the campaign co-ordinator for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. She told Alma Mistry that the government has been forced to release long-term detainees because of public uneasiness with the policy.

A ruling by the Federal Court has been attacked as a blow to freedom of information, by the Australian newspaper and The Democrats. The court found that any minister could restrict access to information by issuing a so-called “conclusive certificate”. The case was prompted by the Australian newspaper after it was denied access to treasury documents relating to taxation. Although the decision to deny access to information may be reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal the court made it clear that a “conclusive certificate” could only be overturned where it was based on “irrational or absurd” reasons. This means that a Minister can refuse to release information without offering good reasons. Tristan Burt spoke to Democrats Senator, Andrew Murray about the reasons for the decision of the Federal Court and its implications for free access to information in Australia.