Indon farmers file UN claim against Aust

Indonesian seaweed farmers and fishermen have filed a formal claim with the United Nations for $US15 billion ($A21 billion) in compensation from Australia over the environmental damage from the Montara oil spill.

A blowout on the Montara rig off Western Australia on August 21, 2009, spewed oil and gas into the Timor Sea between the two countries.

The West Timor Care Foundation, representing the Indonesian claimants, says the spill "killed" the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people, caused the communities "strange diseases" and destroyed coral reefs.

"These claims are not excessive and are based on a credible socio-economic loss count," the organisation said in a statement.

A class action brought in June 2016 against PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Thai state company that operated the rig during the spill, is still being heard in the Federal Court in Sydney.