For Corby, Justice may be Blind

Despite the fact that there is no way an Australian court could make a finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt, I fear that an Indonesian court may not have the same difficulty. It should not be about proving innocence, they should have to prove her guilt. This onus is at the heart of all functioning criminal justice systems. The Australian Government and QANTAS is not lifting a finger and that abandonment is inexcusable. John Howard should be very clearly letting his Indonesian opposite number know that he will be watching carefully to see that justice is applied and failing that he should have the Department of Foreign Affairs issue a travel warning in the strongest terms to all Australians and otherwise make sure Australian travellers are fully aware of the courtesy and respect that will be given to their freedom in that country.

I went to Bali on my honeymoon, but I would never have gone had today's climate prevailed then. As I understand it, Australia is a major contributer to Indonesia in tourism, but I think that all of us have underestimated the ease with which disaster can befall a traveller to Indonesia, and significantly overestimated the quality of the systems that protect the innocent from false imprsonment and conviction.

It is well and good to preach separation of powers, but to deny the reality of the situation is pointless. If an inept or corrupt process sees an unjust conviction arise, then the Australian Government should ensure that it intervenes in whatever manner necessary, or risk losing the support of the Australian people and disillusioning a nation.

The, at best, ham fisted and inept (and at worst corrupted) investigation by Indonesian authorities has severely damaged (and arguably deliberately sabotaged) Shapelle's case and yet nothing has been done by this Government to place pressure on them to play a straight bat or at least nothing apparent to the man on the street. She is an Australian Citizen and I would have thought we could expect our own country to protect it's citizens to the extent of ensuring procedural fairness and the right to justice in another country, even if politically those are sensitive issues. If an individual's basic human rights are to be sacrificed in the name of political convenience then we should all be ashamed.

Based on the Government's success so far in ensuring that the Indonesian Authorities behave appropriately, I hold faint hope that they will suddenly find the necessary resolve to act firmly with such an economically significant neighbour.