Abbott polarizes pro-death penalty debate in Indonesia
By Ross B. Taylor AM In 1984 the then Labor Government abolished the death penalty in WA. It was a brave and visionary decision given public opinion, based on research conducted by the Roy Morgan Group, showed around 60% of the population either in favour or undecided about retaining executions for serious crimes. Thirty years later, all Australian states have abolished the death penalty and that it should never play a part of a modern democracy. Ironically, estimates suggest that there is still some 36% of the populat…
Bali boycott may put Oz-Indo relations on knife edge
The statement late last week by foreign minister Julie Bishop that should Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran face the firing squad in Indonesia within the next few days - and that is now highly likely - Australians should boycott Bali as a tourist destination, is understandable. In reality however, Ms Bishop's threat is simply not sensible, nor is it going to happen. Pragmatically, let's look at why such a boycott call is not a good idea: Firstly, based on a poll conducted two years ago, almost 52% of Australians going to Bal…
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