Whilst members of East Timor’s ruling Fretelin Party will consider their leadership options this week at the party’s national congress in Dili, two of Australia’s amphibious naval transport ships are moored just 45 minutes out from the nation’s capital. Prime Minister John Howard said the pre-positioning of the Manoora and Kanimbla vessels was necessary if Australia were to be called on for help in the case of further riots breaking out in the capital. Speaking from Washington, Mr Howard outlined Australia’s role as the leading regional power, briefing US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the “arc of instability” which stretches from East Timor and the Indonesian archipelago to the islands of the South Pacific. Doctor Alan Dupont, Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, spoke to The Wire on the effects of East Timor’s instability and what support the fledgling nation needs.

Illegal immigration is a hot issue in the United States at the moment, with American President George W. Bush announcing a series of immigration reforms.On Tuesday he announced plans to deploy an extra six thousand troops along the border with Mexico. American Politics expert, Dr David Palmer told Rachna Subir Sen about the relatively new American fear of foreigners.

Aboriginal violence is on the news agenda again this week after shocking revelations about the treatment of women and children on communities. It’s all part of the bigger tragic picture of a culture in meltdown—and one of the other apparently insoluble aspects of that is petrol sniffing. A Senate Committee into the problem heard submissions in South Australia this week, including one from indigenous elder Denis Colson. With Dean Hodgsen, Denis spoke to the Wire’s Christine Brown and told her about his fight against the problem, and some of the activities he’s tried with young sniffers.

South Australian Democrats leader Sandra Kanck caused a storm last week when she commented that the drug, MDMA, or ecstasy, is not a dangerous substance. She suggested it should have been offered to last year’s traumatised Eyre Peninsula bushfire victims to help them cope. But Ms Kanck says her comments have been misrepresented. The Wire’s Andrew Liberts spoke with her today.

The great Australian backyard is under threat. The latest building trends are for bigger houses with more bedrooms and bathrooms, but smaller, or even nonexistent backyards. But the disappearance of gardens, is influencing society, the activities children undertake, and the make up of our environment. The director of Biocity, a centre for Urban Habitats, Professor Chris Daniels speaks about these changes and his concerns, while Child Psychologist, Dr Darryl Cross says there's no need to be concerned about children's mental health as backyards disappear from the family home.