The Free East Timor Coalition was founded September 14, 1997 in Whaingaroa (Raglan), New Zealand. It served as a national coalition for East Timor solidarity groups around Aotearoa (New Zealand). Its founding members hailed from six solidarity groups based in the following areas: Whangārei, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Ōtautahi (Christchurch), and Ōtepoti (Dunedin). It was at the Coalition's founding meeting on September 14, 1997 that members decided to jointly publish the Nettalk newsletter on a quarterly basis. Activists also pooled their resources and experience to streamline and maximize the impact of solidarity efforts. The Coalition, in turn, financed the printing and distribution of newsletters, national and international communication costs, some speaking tour costs, meetings with Government and administrative costs.

The East Timor Independence Committee can be traced back to roughly 1981, when Helen Yensen revitalized Greenpeace and East Timor activist Elaine Shaw's solidarity and networking efforts. Membership grew steadily throughout the 1980s. The Santa Cruz massacre prompted further outrage surrounding the occupation of East Timor and brought further support for the group's efforts. ETIC Auckland took responsibility for the production and mailing of most of the issues of the national newsletter, Nettalk, around 1994, along with its occasional supplements, known as Action Alerts. Work was done by unpaid volunteers and solidarity activities were financed through donations and fundraising. Upon the group's dissolution in 2000, the ETIC recommended its members become involved with the Timor Lorosae Support Group and the Indonesian Human Rights Committee to ensure Timor's smooth transition to independence. The ETIC's remaining assets were distributed amongst various organizations supporting Timorese independence.