I purged all the openoffice.org2* packages then reinstalled them and the problem has been resolved. System information follows just in case it's of use to someone.
Debian Release: testing/unstable APT prefers unstable APT policy: (1001, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (1, 'experimental') Architecture: i386 (i686) Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash Kernel: Linux 2.6.12-1-k7 Locale: LANG=en_AU, LC_CTYPE=en_AU (charmap=ISO-8859-1) Versions of packages openoffice.org2-writer depends on: ii libc6 2.3.5-4 GNU C Library: Shared libraries an ii libgcc1 1:4.0.1-6 GCC support library ii libstdc++6 4.0.1-6 The GNU Standard C++ Library v3 ii libstlport4.6c2 4.6.2-3 STLport C++ class library ii libwpd8c2 0.8.2-2 Library for handling WordPerfect d ii openoffice.org2-core 1.9.121-2 OpenOffice.org office suite archit ii python-uno 1.9.121-2 Python interface for OpenOffice.or ii zlib1g 1:1.2.3-3 compression library - runtime -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]