Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise also to speak about the terrible sentence that has been handed down against Australian journalist Peter Greste. As a former television journalist myself for many years, I wish to record my shock not just at the conviction but at its severity. The evidence simply did not stack up to support this conviction. Peter Greste was doing what every fine Australian correspondent does—doing his job reporting the facts with integrity, with balance and without fear or favour. I wish to commend the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, who has made it clear that the Australian government will seek to intervene in whatever way it can with the new government in Egypt. I note the position articulated by Egyptian President el-Sisi overnight.

Like so many Australians, I am hoping and praying that it will be possible to see justice done, if not by intervention, then by way of an appeal process or by other means, such as taking this case to the International Court of Justice. My heart goes out to Peter; his parents, Juris and Lois; his brothers, Andrew and Mike, and their family; and the two other Al Jazeera journalists who have also been convicted. As Mr Greste has said, journalism is not a crime: 'This man, our son Peter, is an award winning journalist, he is not a criminal. He is not a criminal.' In Australia, we take press freedom for granted. This case reminds us how important those freedoms are.

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