Increasing party turmoil and differences were put aside in Parliament this morning, as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Shadow Deputy Minister Tanya Plibersek gave stirring speeches in the House of Representatives, lamenting on the death sentence of Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
When Julie Bishop, Tanya Plibersek and Alan Jones all manage to agree on an issue, you know something is most definitely up.
In parliament this morning, Julie Bishop spoke of the achievements of Sukumaran and Chan in prison—their respective degrees in fine arts and theology which they have obtained in prison— and described a phone call with the duo’s families this week: “They told me it was virtually impossible to be strong for each other, how it was unbearable to see their sons, their brothers, not knowing if it would be their last time. How could anyone not be moved by their heartbreaking pleas for mercy?”
Tanya Plibersek also spoke this morning with a similar sentiment to Bishop. Plibersek also mentioned of her personal empathy for Sukumaran and Chan’s crime, noting how her husband was charged in 1988 for a “similar crime” in Australia. Plibersek said, “I imagine what would have happened if he had been caught in Thailand instead of Australia, where the crime was committed … what would the world have missed out on? They would have missed out on the three beautiful children we had together. They would have missed out on a man who spent the rest of his life making amends for the crime that he committed.”
Plibersek also cited the 1997 death of her brother in Port Moresby, who died fighting off an intruder, according to SMH: “I know that if I had been the one making the decision about the punishment of the person who did that crime, I couldn’t have thought of a punishment bad enough.” Plibersek argued that punishments should not, therefore, be made based on “how we feel”.
Julie Bishop has also claimed a recent triple j poll published on their ‘Hack’ program—revealing that 52% of those surveyed by Roy Morgan Research agreed that Australians convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death should face execution—was “deeply concerning”, considering it may be used “out of context” by Jakarta in the duo’s case.
Last week, Chan and Sukumaran’s final judicial review into their death sentences was rejected. You can watch Julie Bishop and Tanya Plibersek’s emotional addresses to parliament below.
Via SMH.
Lead image by Lisa Maree Williams via Getty.
