Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I thank all those members who have contributed to this debate. I say again that this is the time in which we need to be focused on bringing these insidious practices to an end. We do not want to be in a situation where we see other Australians executed abroad. I must say, for my own part, I do not want to see a situation where people are executed abroad, full stop. There needs to be change.

I can remember when I was a young law student—and that was a few years ago—I was lectured in criminology. There were studies that were undertaken, even that long ago, which demonstrated that most offences for which people are sentenced to life—or, as it was previously, to death—were acts of passion unlikely to be influenced by the severity of the sentence. I think that those who look around the world and say, 'Well they got their just deserts; they deserved to be executed,' need to understand that execution there says something about the state that does it and, certainly, not about the individual that is involved. Sometimes these are matters that arise that are not premeditated but simply a result of some spontaneity, and the law, itself, is unlikely to deter them. I am very focused and believe that the parliament needs to play a very active role encouraging the Foreign Minister to lead on these issues abroad. But I encourage every member of parliament, when they are travelling abroad, to raise these matters well.

Debate adjourned.

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