Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with sadness that I stand here today and offer my sincere thoughts and prayers to Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran—the two Australians in Bali facing execution for the crime of drug trafficking—and I commend the parliamentarians on both sides of the chamber for their support in calling for clemency. To all of those people who have spoken on this motion, I thank you for making a stand for these two men and for the more than 100 parliamentarians who signed the letter to the Indonesian ambassador seeking clemency.

On 13 February 2006, Lawrence and Rush, the first of the of the Bali Nine to face sentencing, were sentenced to life imprisonment. The following day Czugaj and Stephens were sentenced to life imprisonment. Sadly, Andrew and Myuran were sentenced to death via firing squad, the first ever death sentences imposed by the Denpasar District Court.

I want to say to the families of these two young men, Andrew and Myuran, that you have my deepest sympathy for your situation and what you have experienced over the last 10 years or so, though no words could possibly ease the pain you have been experiencing since the arrests.

Every parent in Australia who watched the truly saddening plea of Raji Sukumaran, mother of Myuran, as she read a statement in Jakarta on behalf of herself and Helen Chan, the mother of Andrew Chan, would have felt their anguish and felt horrified to see those words coming from that mother's heart:

We beg for mercy for our sons, we beg you to spare our sons’ lives, we beg you, please don’t kill our sons.

I remember the day that the Bali Nine were arrested—and Scott Rush's parents are in my electorate—because it was the day my son was born. As I see my son approaching his 10th birthday this year, a son that I could hold in my hand the day they were arrested, I see how much my son has grown and I think of the lives that these men have missed out on over the last 10 years, and the lives that their parents have missed out on. I know because of Lee and Chris Rush and the great work that they have been doing to support all of the Bali Nine, not just their son Scott.

I believe in a strong system of justice. I understand that Andrew and Myuran should be punished for the serious crime of trafficking illicit drugs. No-one in this parliament has questioned that. In Australia we take the crime of drug running very seriously, and the implementation of these crimes results in penalties, including imprisonment. We understand that.

I have sympathy for the situation in Indonesia where drugs are sadly consuming the lives of people every day and sensible governments must help their constituents; however, I note that the drugs being smuggled in this situation were intended to harm Australians, not Indonesians.

Irrespective of the crime, I unreservedly oppose the death penalty in all cases wherever it occurs in the world, whether it be terrorists in Bali, people smuggling drugs or anything in between. No crime can justify the cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state.

I support the view of Amnesty International and said when I was the co-chair of that group that:

The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights ... it violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On 6 March 2008, it was revealed that three of the Bali Nine, Norman, Chen and Nguyen, who were issued death sentences on appeal, had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment. Thankfully, on 10 May 2011, Rush's appeal was successful in reducing his sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment. There is still more to be done to release Scott, someone else who has changed his circumstances while in jail. I know that Lee and Chris Rush are doing all they can to help him. I ask that the Indonesian president show some compassion to implement the decision of the Indonesian Constitutional Court in the 2007 case of Edith Sianturi, Scott Rush and others, which recommended that the death penalty should no longer be the primary form of punishment in Indonesia, and that it should be imposed with a prohibition period of 10 years so that if the prisoner shows good behaviour, as Andrew and Myuran have done, it can be amended to a lifelong sentence or imprisonment for 20 years.

So I plead with the Indonesian president, new in his tenure, popularly elected—and surprised many—that now is the chance for him to show compassion and strength, especially in the light of the rehabilitation of Andrew and Myuran, the remorse they have shown during their time in prison, and the help they have given to other prisoners over the past nearly 10 years. He should recognise the advantage that saving Andrew's and Myuran's lives would present to the Indonesian system, because of the help they have given other prisoners. By observing the positive change Andrew and Myuran have made, the Indonesian government can take this opportunity to encourage other prisoners to rehabilitate and change their lives for the better.

Recent campaigns across Australia have echoed that call for mercy. I thank the Australian people for turning out for this cause. Execution is not the answer for this situation and I ask President Jokowi to reverse his decision and save the lives of Andrew and Myuran. I ask him to consider the circumstances of Andrew's and Myuran's rehabilitation particularly. Obviously their suffering is also to be considered, as is the suffering of their families. But their rehabilitation is the key element that should make him commute their sentences to an appropriate term of imprisonment. Please, Mr President, I ask you to consider this.

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