Save Bali Nine

A FORMER federal minister under investigation by the Australian Federal Police has backed a petition accusing the force of "delivering up" up the Bali Nine to the death sentence.

Member for Moreton Gary Hardgrave tabled a petition in Parliament this week from the Brisbane parents of Scott Rush, who has been sentenced to death for his part in a plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin into Australia.

The petition, signed by more than 1500 people, condemns the AFP for tipping off Indonesian police instead of waiting to charge them in Australia.

Mr Hardgrave told Parliament: "As this petition outlines, it acknowledges the gross error of judgment by the AFP in delivering up to the Indonesian National police nine young Australian citizens, when they knew that the inevitable consequence of their action would be to expose each of these young people to a death sentence."

Mr Hardgrave is one of three Liberal MPs in Queensland embroiled in federal police investigations into alleged abuse of electoral allowances.

His Sunnybank office was raided by federal police at the start of the month. But Mr Hardgrave yesterday said his sponsorship of the petition was unrelated to his own dealings with the federal police.

"I am trying to be straight up and down with Parliament. They have come to me with a petition and I have tabled it," Mr Hardgrave said.

"The petition itself is quite critical of it (the AFP), and I can understand why they are making the criticisms."

Mr Hardgrave said he was confident of being cleared of any wrongdoing by the AFP, claiming the issue had been given too much coverage.

"That will go away, and it will disappear, because there is nothing I have done that is incorrect," he said.

The Government has been reluctant to criticise the AFP's handling of the Bali Nine case.

Federal Commissioner Mick Keelty has also rejected accusations the AFP was to blame for the group's plight.

"Whilst we do have sympathy for those innocent people involved with the Bali Nine, we have to look to the greater good and apply the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will: and that is what we have done," he said last year.

Rush, 21, is one of six young Australians condemned to death by the Indonesian Supreme Court last year for heroin trafficking.

A challenge has been launched in the country's constitutional court claiming the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Mar 2007
Source: The Sunday Mail.com (Australia-Web)
Reporter: Lachlan Heywood
Website: http://www.news.com.au/sundaymail