Afghanistan, Iraq, the Solomons, East Timor, Aboriginal Australia...

...and next, perhaps, Papua New Guinea:

National Alliance President Simon Kaiwi has also alleged Australian interference during PNG's elections, saying the Australian government and media were not happy with National Alliance's success.

He accused Canberra of using political pawns within PNG to try to determine the political leadership.

Canberra had heavily influenced elections in East Timor and the demise of former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, he said.

"Australia wants a leader in Papua New Guinea that can say 'how high' when they order him to jump," Kaiwi said.

Don't dismiss the possibility of an intervention under manufactured pretences, if the locals make a habit of refusing to play ball with the bully to the south.

My take on the recent rioting in East Timor is up on indymedia and has been translated by not one, not two, but three Lusophone websites. If only monolingual Kiwis like myself could reciprocate, we'd have a better picture of happenings in places like East Timor. The World Socialist Website, which seems to have an inside line to Dili, has posted an expansive report on the riots and their aftermath. Money quote:

While the Australian government disingenuously claims to have had no influence in the appointment of Gusmao’s CNRT government, late last month, and in the midst of the post-election arm-twisting, Howard suddenly visited East Timor and met with Ramos-Horta. The Australian prime minister told journalists that he also planned to meet with Gusmao, describing him as the “likely next prime minister”...

Australian Army Brigadier John Hutcheson replaced Brigadier Mal Rerden as head of the so-called International Stabilisation Force in East Timor. Hutcheson has close relations with the East Timorese military and served in the country as “defence advisor” in 2001. More significantly, he led the military component of Australia’s Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), which took control of that country’s major institutions—the police, courts, prisons, media outlets and the finance department—in 2003.