Prime ministers failing Corby
Three consecutive prime ministers have failed to deliver justice to convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby despite promises of action, according to her lawyer.Kerry Smith-Douglas, the principal
Three consecutive prime ministers have failed to deliver justice to convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby despite promises of action, according to her lawyer.
Kerry Smith-Douglas, the principal of Queensland-based Douglas Law who took on Corby's case earlier this year, said her pleas to Julia Gillard to bring Corby home have resulted is the same inaction exhibited by past leaders.
Corby is currently serving out a 20-year sentence in an Indonesian prison for trafficking marijuana.
"[Gillard] said that she has basically done everything that she could possibly do, and that they were looking at initiating a bilateral prisoner exchange program," Smith-Douglas told Lawyers Weekly.
"I advised her that Kevin Rudd had promised the same thing five years previously. Kevin Rudd was criticising John Howard for doing very little and, well, Kevin Rudd did very little."
Smith-Douglas is determined to see Corby return to Australia and says she and a specially-formed committee intend to lobby Julia Gillard until they achieve this outcome.
"I'd like to see Julia Gillard go over and bring home all the Australians that are languishing in that third world prison," she said.
"Bring home the Aussies to Australian shores and send all Indonesian [prisoners] back to Indonesian prisons. They must think it's the lap of luxury in our prisons compared to theirs."
Claire Chaffey