Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. What action will the government take to support the six Australians facing the death penalty in Indonesia?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his interest. As he knows and as the House knows, six of the so-called Bali nine Australians who were convicted of heroin trafficking have now been sentenced to death as a result of a decision by the Indonesian Supreme Court. In answer to the honourable member’s question, I make three points. First of all, our embassy officials and particularly our consulate officials in Bali will continue to work tirelessly to provide appropriate consular support to the convicted Australians. They are constantly visited by the consular staff. Over and above that, for example, yesterday my department spoke to the families of the nine and is also offering support to those families. I think in these circumstances all of our hearts go out very much to the families.

The second point I make is to remind not just the House but the Australian community that trafficking in heroin is an extremely serious offence, and it is well known that in most Asian countries trafficking in heroin can bring the death sentence. All people should understand this. We cooperate with a lot of countries in the region, not least Indonesia, in trying to stop the trafficking of harmful drugs, in particular heroin, into Australia in order to protect the people of Australia. It is very important that our law enforcement agencies work closely with those of neighbouring countries, including Indonesia, to combat transnational crime, including drug trafficking but also problems like people-smuggling, terrorism and so on.

The third point I would make is that the Australian government’s position on capital punishment is well known. We oppose capital punishment and we always support applications for clemency for Australians, as we have done on a number of occasions over the years—the previous government and the present government. Over the years Australian governments, including our government, have been successful. We have been successful in relation to Vietnam on several occasions. The House knows only too well that we were unsuccessful in relation to Van Nguyen in Singapore last year, and there were the cases in Malaysia back in the 1980s or 1990s when the Australian government’s representations were unsuccessful as well. So, it varies. But we will always support applications for clemency.

The final point I make is this: the Australians who have been sentenced to death and whose sentences have now been handed down by the Supreme Court in Indonesia do have options. One of them is the option of a judicial review. Under that judicial review the Supreme Court can look at the circumstances of the conviction, details in relation to the trial and so on, and it is possible that the sentences could be reduced but it is by no means certain.

Finally, once all appeals have been finalised, applications can be made for clemency. Should those applications be made, the Australian government will support those applications to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. We have no experience of President Yudhoyono’s approach to these issues. We do know that he is very tough on drugs. It is a central plank of the President’s platform and it is a good plank that he wants to try to eliminate drug use and trafficking in Indonesia. But his attitude to dealing with these sorts of applications for clemency is unknown, and we will just have to wait and see. I would not encourage people to have false optimism about it; I simply do not know what his approach will be.