Michael Wilks’ comments follow reports that a witness has come forward 34 years after the Balibo Five were killed.

The witness, known as Alberto, said he saw Indonesian soldiers murder the newsmen as they pleaded for their lives on October 16, 1975.

“It now appears as though Malcolm was one of the journalists shot inside the building and there was one who was chased and shot outside the building,” Mr Wilks, of Thornton, said.

“To me, we’re now heading down the road of pointing legal blame and we’re not focusing on bringing that coffin home.

“We’re too busy concentrating on blame and who to bring to justice.

“Let’s get the men home and then deal with blame – these five men were only doing their job, let’s bring them home.”

Mr Wilks attended Maitland Boys High School with Malcolm Rennie in the 1960s.

Mr Rennie, 29, Greg Shackleton, 29, Gary Cunningham, 27, Tony Stewart, 21, and Brian Peters, 24, were television reporters who travelled to East Timor as Indonesia prepared to invade the tiny nation.

The men, who became known as the Balibo Five, were killed at dawn by Indonesian soldiers in the Portuguese colony of Balibo.